Clash of the Elements Part 4 EX Story 6: Maverick Hunter X5
by mewmaster93
Summary: On the final leg of Alex and Shina's journey, the two find themselves caught up in an all-out war raged amongst machines. Teaming up with X and Zero, the world's premiere Maverick Hunters, they are trapped in a race against time to stop Sigma from transforming the world into a Maverick paradise. But in their quest to save the world, X and Zero will learn the truth of their creation
1. Prologue

_The rain was falling without an end in sight, turning the grasslands into a muddy trough that not even the greasiest of pigs would dare to tread through. The sight of the mud and rain left little impact on a weary robot, whose vision was at present eclipsed by a grotesque, titanic mech._

 _His vision was crackling with a loud and cumbersome static, and he there was no longer feeling in his arms or legs. He hadn't realized it, but a large chunk of his head was lying on the floor next to him, sinking into the thick, swamp-like ground. Two people were crying out to him in a panic, while a muted bark echoed in from the left._

 _In this broken down state he couldn't even identify who the voices belonged to anymore. All he knew was that, for some reason, he couldn't fail them. He raised his right hand up, driven almost entirely on bare instinct, and turned it into a small barrel-like cannon. The mech lurched forward, draping an oppressive shadow over the robot._

 _Then, in a flash of lightning, the mech's true form was revealed. Composed of a mish-mash of broken scrap and loose wires, the mech was a junkyard come to life, and it's presence was akin to a tsunami making it's inevitable advance towards an occupied shoreline._

 _The robot could shoot at it all he wanted, but it wouldn't be stopped. It crawled forward and pulled it's hefty limb free from the murky mud surrounding it, then used it to wrench the robot off the ground and hoist him high enough to see the back of the mech. Every movement made tore the mech apart, leaving a trail of scrap in it's wake that gave off the appearance of a serpent's tail._

 _The robot was lowered before the 'head' of the mech, and inside it rode a bald-headed man with grey hair spread out in a shape that one could easily mistake as bat-wings. The person laughed in a quiet, subtly gleeful manner as they crushed the robot between the mech's massive fingers._

" _You're so…tiny," Mocking, malicious, it was obvious the man had waited a long time to say this, "How a robot like you ever managed to thwart my plans time and time again I'll never know…"_

 _There was a loud crunch, and the robot's body crumbled apart in the mech's grasp._

" _But you'll_ _ **never**_ _…get in my way again." His tone cold even as he overheard the anguished screams of those who cheered this little robot on, the man spread the hand of his mech out and let his shambled remains fall to the wayside. His body skipped along the surface of the mud and landed on it's back, and the grimy glop attached itself to his exposed circuitry to further damage his audio and visual receptors._

 _The robot twitched and stared up towards the sky, the droplets of rain gathering in his cracked sockets and leaving his vision in an indefinite flux of static. Another person approached and picked his body up, his eyes dampened with tears as he cried out to him. His voice was muffled, but the tone could be made out as one of painful fright. The person opened his mouth, ready to cry out the robot's name…_

"WRRRRNN…! WRRRRRNNN…!"

A sharp alarm awoke the Maverick Hunter known as X from a very deep slumber. If he had a heart, the jolt of being awoken like that would have rippled through his entire body. Instead, only his head was affected, inflicted with a throbbing sensation that he could not explain no matter how hard he tried to think on it.

With a tight groan and a creaking rise, X pulled himself out of his capsule and stepped onto the cold metallic floor. The rigid sensation was familiar and welcome in this moment of disarray, allowing X's mental state to anchor itself back into reality. Laying a hand on the side of his head, X looked up and saw that the Maverick Hunter HQ was flooded with a red light.

"X! Zero! Report to the command center immediately!" It was the voice of Alia, X's current mission navigator, who addressed him through the intercom.

Lowering his head and slanting his brows in a manner that looked worried, X murmured to himself, "Me and Zero? Sounds like a large-scale Maverick attack is happening…"

His right fist tightened against his hip and he lingered on the concern of what may be happening before picking up his feet and dashing out of the room. As he made his way through the many winding halls of his base for what was sure to not be the last time, X's thoughts began to wander towards the sights he had seen prior to waking up.

"… _That's the fifth time I've had that dream lately. And I still don't understand what it means or why I'm having them."_ For a moment, X closed his eyes and tried to visualize what he saw, but was only able to draw upon the final moments where the robot was cradled in the arms of a bearded scientist…A scientist he knew for a fact to be Dr. Light.

Between that and managing to scrounge up an article revealing the doctor had committed suicide, X could only hang his head and wonder, "Doctor…What have you been hiding from me?"

 **Prologue: Doomsday's Reckoning**

 _It has been five months since the resolution to the Repliforce Incident. In the wake of the news that the human government had been killed by their own secret Reploid assassination group known as the 'Shadow Corps', paranoia has been high amongst the populace, none of it at all helped by Repliforce's betrayal._

 _The world has been trying to recover from everything that has happened, but now more than ever Reploids have been trying to seek independence from their human creators. Unions have formed in their name, rebellions carried out by their will, and thanks to the machinations of Sigma the Maverick Hunters and the remains of Repliforce are stretched thin trying to contain all the chaos that has swarmed the planet._

 _Sigma himself has not dared to show up during this time, but his presence can still be felt in the virus he's created. Thanks to the Sigma Virus, it has become difficult to discern who is simply carrying out his will, or who are merely rebelling on their own against a corrupt, bigoted system. These are trying times for the Maverick Hunters, especially the likes of X, whose overabundant optimism has come under pressure from the difficulty of discerning friend-or-foe alike._

 _Humanity is in no better shape. In fact, from their point of view their own planet has been transformed into a living hell. They lie in the middle of a war without end, unable to put their trust even in their own government. Many humans are forced to hide in underground camps, while the others can do nothing but hope that they'll live another day. But no matter how hard they prayed, things were only going to get worse before they got better…_

X made his way through the HQ in record time, arriving in the command center right as the sirens began to quiet down. All the navigators were operating without end, their fingers tapping along on their keyboards to the point of wearing them down. After a quick scan of the room X swerved his head to the right and saw his comrade Zero already at Alia's side, his body leaning back against the side of the desk and his arms crossed against his chest.

"Zero…" X murmured his name once and looked him in the eyes. Zero lifted his head and acknowledged his glance with a tinge of relief present on his face. X's expression wasn't the same. He couldn't look at Zero with anything less than concern.

"Hey, something the matter X?" It was only when Zero spoke to him that X stopped staring and shook his head, approaching his friend while giving a response of, "I-It's fine Zero."

Zero raised his left brow for a moment and then pulled his arms apart, murmuring out in a mildly suspecting tone, "Well…alright then."

The two stood behind the chair that their comrade Alia sat in, watching as she typed away at the keyboard faster than the others did, her fingers little more than a blur.

"Alia, what's the situation?" X inquired. Even with all her focus put into work, Alia was able to give a swift response.

"Not good. We've detected a large conglomeration of the Sigma Virus in the center of the city. The readings are higher than anything on record."

Zero slanted his brows into a fervid glare and remarked, "Has Sigma returned again?"

"I don't know. The quantity of the virus we're dealing with is rendering our primary and auxiliary scanners dysfunctional for the time being. I'm trying to bolster their power to try and lock onto the source of the virus, but it's proving tougher than I expected…" Alia was performing routines, subroutines, anything her brilliant mind could perform to get the system operational again, but the screen continued to be obscured by a blanket of static.

"Don't worry, I'll break through in no time!" But she wasn't stopping anytime soon, even as heat began to build in her fingertips. X couldn't help but admire her dedication, but knew that standing around waiting for her to find the answer would do nothing to solve the problem.

"Alia, Zero and I can go in and deal with the source of the virus." X offered, laying a hand on his chest to assert confidence in their capabilities.

"I'm not going to make that call X. You'll have to ask the Commander." Alia replied.

"Given the situation, that would be our best option." A calm but stern voice of reason spoke out from behind the two Hunters, and they turned around to find Signas approaching them from the center of the room. His arms were held at his back, and he stood with a dignified stance a few feet away from the saluting hunters.

"Commander Signas, sir!" X gave his utmost respect, but Signas simply smiled and waved his right hand out beside his hip.

"I told you X, you can still just call me Signas," Once he placed his hand back he got straight to the point and explained to the two, "Now then, I'm ordering you two to investigate the virus outbreak and if possible, destroy it at the source."

"Are we going in alone?" Zero wondered, to which Signas nodded his head, having no need to explain why. With a nod of his head, Zero then looked at X and said, "Lets get moving, X."

"I've got the coordinates already set. Be careful out there you two." Alia stayed professional even as she expressed concern for her comrades' well-being. As the two hunters ran out of the room, she watched them off, her face looking dour for just a moment. The hunters made their way for the teleporter room, entering them one at a time and being carried away in a flash of light to their destination.

They arrived in the center of the city, standing on a highway decorated with a few organic trees, a rarity in this day and age. Before they moved on, a couple beeps entered their ears, signaling that Alia was trying to reach them.

" _Oh good, the communications relay is still functional,"_ She breathed an audible sigh of relief and then alerted the two, _"Be careful out there. If my coordinates are correct, you're close to an abandoned business district. The buildings around there are unstable and may collapse at any moment."_

"We'll be on high alert. Thanks Alia." X remarked, while Zero gave a nod of the head before moving his hand towards his back and detaching his saber handle off it. He then swung it out at his hip and summoned the glowing green blade he'd grown accustomed to wielding.

"Ready whenever you are." He said with a momentary glance over his right shoulder at X. The blue Hunter armed his buster cannon in his right hand and cocked it near his head, giving his friend an even briefer nod of confidence.

"Beginning the mission!" He proclaimed, and the two were off to deal with the threat at hand.

It didn't take long for the signs of conflict to reveal themselves. The highway was uneven as though a rough earthquake had struck it, and cars and the corpses of normal Reploids were flung every which way. Buildings were torn down and their debris scattered, the damage spreading out to the elevated freeways a mile away.

"This is horrible. All this destruction must've been caused by Mavericks…" X commented in grief as his eyes fixated on a Reploid ripped in half, his oil and wires exposed in a slick, messy puddle.

"That's just the way things are these days X," Zero offered a grim, almost callous reminder to his friend, pausing to take in the sights of ruination spread everywhere he could see, "But it didn't used to be this bad…"

There wasn't a single living human or Reploid in sight, and were it not for each other's company the Hunters would've been encumbered with a sense of dread and loneliness. After surveying the area, Zero looked down over the raised, slanted highways and commented, "Hey, come take a look at this."

He hopped off the rock and X soon followed, and with caution Zero peered under the crumbling concrete to find the remains of a purple, vehicular Reploid built like an SUV. It had been split clean in half, and the points where it was cut had hardened into a semi-molten state.

"This cut could've only been made with a sword…" Zero murmured and then stood up, letting X have a chance to examine the Reploid while he contacted Alia.

"Alia, put Commander Signas on the line."

" _What's the matter Zero?"_ Signas' response was immediate, much to Zero's surprise. He recovered fast and delivered his answer while glancing back at the Reploid.

"I thought we were going in alone, but it seems there's another unit on the scene already."

"… _That's interesting. I never gave any orders to the other units, and we're the only ones operating in this sector."_

"You sure it's not the remnants of Repliforce?" Zero was hesitant to inquire. Signas hummed on the subject for a little while before responding.

" _No. Colonel was the only member of Repliforce proficient with a sword,"_ Signas' suspicions were at the forefront of his tone of voice, and he then stressed a warning to the two Hunters, _"Stay on guard. I have a bad feeling about this."_

Zero gave an affirmative nod then cut off communications before looking back at X. After touching the molten metal, X pulled his hand back and shook it, a black mark scorched onto his fingertip.

"It's still warm." He whispered.

As he was about to examine the Reploid again, the stretch of highway above him shook, and upon noticing that Zero dashed forward and exclaimed, "X, watch out!"

He grabbed his friend by the right shoulder and jerked him away, swing his sword upward in the other hand to slice through the falling road. The halves crashed and slid away from the Hunters, but crushed the Reploid underneath it's back edges. On top of the halves was a complete version of the Reploid they just examined, which wasted little time thrusting a spiked wheel out from the sides of it's front window.

Zero held his sword beside the shoulder to deflect the wheel, and as sparks flew into his face he charged ahead and sliced the rod connecting the wheel with a swift swing. Then, with a leap, he brought his sword down in both hands and stabbed it through the center of the Reploid to reach it's core. He then flipped off as X fired a charged shot through it, landing a good ten feet behind the ensuing explosion.

He wouldn't stand still for long, as a turn of the head alerted Zero to the presence of more similar Reploids, all of whom were joined by small pod shaped gunners and smaller spider-like turrets. The sunlight was fading, obscured by the clouds growing over the horizon, as lightning began to strike down on a red steel construction site in the distance.

" _I'm starting to get a reading on our target! It has to be in that building over there!"_ Alia remarked.

"Alright, we'll head on over. Come on X!" Zero led the charge without a moment's hesitation, assaulting the incoming swarm of Mavericks with blade in hand and a defiant will. He cut them down and sped on by faster than the Mavericks could shoot, leaving a trail of explosions in his wake.

X followed suit and kept his buster charged at all times, firing into the remnants of the Maverick crowd whenever multiple targets lined themselves up. He used the smoke for cover and rolled underneath projectiles and spiked wheels, slamming his buster into the ground and using the blast to launch himself over the back of the crowd. With a quick spin, X kicked his legs up and used his jet boots to thrust away, firing one last charged shot into a lone bomb in the center of the Mavericks to blow them all up.

He then swung his left hand back and magnetically attached to the side of a ruined parking lot, sliding down to join Zero at it's entrance. The two charged forth, the ceiling coming down in large chunks to try and impede their progress. X cleared the way with a charged shot, while Zero leaned forward and dashed underneath the broken up pebbles.

Reaching the end of the building first, Zero found a large chasm separating them from the building they needed to go to. He turned around and motioned his left hand towards X before holding his sword up like a platform. X nodded, the two not needing to say a word, and leapt on top of the sword. The bottom of his feet burned for a second, but he was able to vault his way across the chasm and landed safely on the other side.

Zero turned around and took a couple steps back, concentrating all his energy into making it across. After a swift running start, he kicked his feet off the edge of the cliff and flew across the chasm. He wasn't capable of crossing the whole gap and thus resorted to stabbing his sword into the rock wall, grinding down a couple feet of it until stopping.

He then let go with his left hand and swung his body upward, grabbing onto X's hand as he bent over to help. In a couple of seconds the two were reunited at the base of their destination, leaving just a short climb to the top in their way. The two climbed the ladder and noticed that there was a towering, feminine statue propped up in the center. It was incomplete, but the most noticeable thing is that it lacked a head.

The two hopped between broken walls and made their way to the very top, but before they entered the door Alia yelled to them, _"Hold up!"_

"What's going on?" Zero and X asked simultaneously.

" _I'm detecting something strange. There's two other Reploids in your area, and they're fighting the source of the virus!"_

" _Two other Reploids? Where could they have come from?"_ Signas commented with a great deal of curiosity.

Before X and Zero could offer their input, an explosion rocked the building from behind the door, throwing off their balance for just a bit. Zero stamped his feet down and held his sword aside before replying to Alia's comments, "We're going in. Whether they're friend or foe, we'll find out soon enough."

He advanced towards the door, his presence causing it to slide open. Despite Alia's objections to this plan, X followed Zero in and told her, "It'll be alright. When Zero and I work together, no Maverick can defeat us!"

"What the hell…?" Zero paused after making his way past the door, his tone flustered by exasperation. X followed his partner through the door, and his face would quickly contort into one of confusion as well.

Floating above the intertwining crimson beams was a large metallic head suspended in place by jets attached to the back of their skull. On the front of this head was Sigma's familiar mug, and with his face up-scaled to fit the rest of the machine he looked even more grotesque than normal. Before the Hunters had arrived, his gaze was fixated on two others.

One was a boy with a red shirt and blue jeans along with a simple brown hairstyle. He wielded a curved, fanged amber sword covered in flames, and wisps of heat fizzled off from his body. Beside him was a girl with knee-length blonde hair around the same age as him, and she had a fancy outfit on complete with a scouter and a pair of pistol that appeared to be made out of solid energy. But all those features were unremarkable compared to the major one that stuck out in the Hunter's mind.

"Their skin…They're…human?" X commented, and was hesitant to keep his buster raised. Then, the cackling guffaw of Sigma entered his ears, forcing his buster to be pointing skyward at his face.

"X! Zero! You kept me waiting…" Sigma's voice echoed across the horizon with a tone brimming with arrogance and authority, his mouth unmoving. The two people fighting him stopped and looked over their shoulders, the boy slanting his brows and murmuring, "Ah crap…Figures we'd run into you two."

 _Next Time: Strangers from Another World_


	2. Chapter 1

" _A world that has known only the terrors of war for many years…In some ways, I can relate to the futility of their struggle."_

" _Is that so? I never would've suspected."_

" _Is that an attempt at sarcasm, old friend?"_

"… _You know well that such frivolities are not worth my time."_

" _And that is truly a pity. Good health always follows good humor, as they say"_

" _Alas, I must reserve my boundless repertoire of jokes for later, for the time to take action has come to pass once more."_

" _And yet another world shall succumb to the whimsy that is your vendetta."_

" _I am but a plague, than the boy is my carrier."_

" _A plague that shall raise hell on an Earth already ravaged twice over…"_

" _Fufufu…I shall raise a_ _ **thousand**_ _hells across a_ _ **thousand**_ _worlds if it will prevent just the one from being raised on mine."_

" _Age and turmoil has left your heart tulgey, old friend…But I suppose I am not one to speak out in that regard."_

" _You are not. We do what we must to protect that which we care for, even if that means harming those who know naught of our struggle."_

" _But soon enough, our struggles shall no longer remain enigmatic."_

" _For now though, I shall attend to the Phoenix of Destruction…And for the first time, he shall_ _ **truly**_ _know helplessness."_

 **CLASH OF THE ELEMENTS PART 4 EX STORY 6:**

 **MAVERICK HUNTER X5**

 **Chapter 1: The Maverick Wars**

Through the endless, starry ebony of space, an orb of concentrated air speeds off to it's destination without impediment. Defying the natural laws of the universe, it managed to keep two humans inside while moving faster than what their bodies should've been capable of handling.

One was a boy with short brown hair, red shirt, and blue jeans. He had a simple, ordinary appearance, but within him he carried an incredible power over the seven basic elements. His name is Alex Whiter, the current successor to the Elemental Overlord.

At his side was a girl who has been his only company for the last tiring year and a half. Her name is Shina Aurora, a bubbly, ditzy Aurian with long-blonde hair, blue shirt, and light beige jeans. Like the rest of her kind, she is able to manipulate aura, the fundamental essence of a person's life and power.

What drives them to travel the far spanning cosmos is an arduous but noble goal. They wish to claim the five pieces of an artifact that will allow them to find the Cosmos Drive, whose power is said to be unrivaled, and with it defeat the Aurian tyrant Gravitus. And only then, shall Shina's people, most importantly her family, know peace. As of now they have claimed four of the five pieces, and are fast approaching the destination where the final one lies…

Alex was at the helm of the sphere, his hands held up to help guide it along the path of the aura seeping forth from the conjoined artifact in Shina's pocket. He was as still as a garden statue, and the strange vibe he projected made it difficult for Shina to approach. She kept herself at least ten feet away from him at all times, pacing back and forth with her eyes fixated on his back.

Over the last few months, she considered it lucky just to hold a conversation for more than a minute with him. More than usual, the distance between them seemed as vast as a canyon. Holding a hand close to her chest, her head hung and a sigh passed between her lips.

She had an inkling of an idea why he was acting this way, but was too nervous to bring it up to him directly. Deep in thought, her body jolted upright when Alex addressed her in a normal, friendly manner.

"Hey, Shina, the last planet's up ahead." Even using that type of tone, there was something 'off' about it, as though he was just going through the motions. Seeing it best to just go with a flow, Shina moved a couple feet closer and forced a smile, peering over his body to find that they were approaching another Earth, making it the fourth one on their journey.

There was a noticeable difference with this Earth compared to the others though. There wasn't much greenery, and on the darkest part of the planet a few golden rings of light shone through the shadows. Individual sparkles twinkled amongst the many rings, suggesting they came from structures far more advanced than anything the two had seen before.

"Looks like it's a machine world this time 'round!" Shina spoke up in a chipper tone, hoping to draw Alex out of his shell to discuss her observation. He did end up peering just a bit over his shoulder to acknowledge her with an intrigued glance, responding a moment after.

"What, like a world run by machines or a world that's become a machine?"

"Umm, the first one!" Shina wasn't certain with her answer, and thus Alex ended up scratching the side of his head with a single finger as he turned back around.

"I doubt either's true. The humans of this world are probably just living in a futuristic society."

"Again? The last two worlds were like that too!" Shina proclaimed with a disappointed pout right after.

"Oh I'm sorry Shina. I'll just get in touch with _God_ on speed-dial and tell him to switch the planets!" Alex responded with scathing annoyance, not even bothering to jerk his head back to show his irksome glare.

Bridging her arms under her chest and spreading the fingers past the elbows, Shina scoffed and gave him a flustered retort, "Ok fine geez! Guess it doesn't matter what's on this world 'cept the artifact piece."

The flustered look on her face gave way to one of pure excitement, followed by her smiling until both cheeks were stretched and sore. Leaning forward and swinging her fists out near her chest, her glee could not longer be contained within her body and was let loose in a premature cry of victory.

"This'll be the final piece! We're so close to the Cosmos Drive that I can taste it!"

"Thank. GOD." Alex let out a short, gruff remark of exasperation in turn. Shina's eyes squinted halfway shut, staring daggers into Alex's back. A shiver left the boy's arms rigid with goosebumps until she stood back up and tucked her hands into her pockets.

"…Riiight, lets get moving." Alex brushed her off and guided them towards the planet without exchanging another word.

The sphere breeched the atmosphere, but upon doing so the two had a bizarre shock pass through their bodies. Alex widened his eyes and looked down at himself, while Shina wiggled herself around a bit and murmuring, "Ooo, tingly!"

"… _That was weird."_ Alex thought, as nothing about his body seemed off. With a hazy shake of the head he kept descending straight towards the closest part of the surface. As it so happened, there was a city close by, where the buildings were fully cybernetic and all towering dozens of stories off the ground. There was no trace of any traditional style homes, nor of parks or gardens of any sort. The city was littered with concrete highways that stretched and swerved between the buildings for miles on end, meaning that in spite of how advanced the city looked, the washed out palette of colors left an overall bland impression on Alex's mind.

"Woooow!" Shina, of course, was still impressed by what she saw, and her eyes glistened in awe. Alex could admire that about her…or at least he used to, he thought.

Reflecting on the pain of her rejecting his admission of love, Alex let out a melancholic sigh and pressed his arms inward to begin dispelling the air. The two floated down onto the middle of the highway, finding that it had been broken up and raised in multiple locations. Holding his arms out for a couple seconds, he then crossed them against his chest and closed his eyes.

Once he sorted his emotions out, discarding them to the deepest recesses of his mind, he held his arms down at his hips and surveyed the area. Any cars in the immediate area were thrown to the wayside, either broken or flipped over. There were no signs of life, not even a single insect or bird.

"…Getting some reeeeeeeal 'post-apocalyptic' vibes from this place Alex." Shina chimed in, her face slumped in unease as she looked around.

"You're right. It's too quiet," Alex shifted his gaze left and right then turned around and looked Shina straight in the eyes, "But there IS something familiar about this place."

"Same here actually. In fact, I can almost hear the sounds of electric guitar stirring in my head…" Shina closed her eyes and puckered her lips, pinching the tips of her middle and pointer fingers atop her thumb and spinning them around beside her head.

With jaw slacked to the left and his eyelids drooping down, Alex shook his head and murmured sarcastically, "You're in-CRED-ible…"

Shina perked her eyelids opened and glanced over Alex's head, noticing a purple vehicle approaching them by crawling up and over all the debris.

"Hey! Someone's coming!" She swung her right hand up and waved it out to herald the machine closer. Alex raised his brows and swerved his body around, staring into the windshield of the vehicle. He couldn't peer past the glass, but it didn't matter. There was no life inside of that machine.

It halted in the center of the road and the right of it's body opened up, dragging out a rod with a spiked wheel attached to it. Slanting his brows, Alex leaned forward and dashed at the machine, swinging his right arm up near his head and summoning his fanged, amber sword. The machine lunged it's wheel at his face, but he ducked down and then grasped his blade in both hands. Grinding the edge along the ground, he ignited the blade and swung upward, slicing through it with enough force to send the halves flying high into the sky.

He then positioned himself upright and turned back at Shina, spreading his fingers to dispel the sword as the machine plummeted to the ground beside the slanted road. At the same time, the two said with little fanfare, "Mega Man X's world."

Shina then tucked her hands into her pockets and took another glance around, commenting with a light blush of shame in her cheeks, "The buildings really shoulda tipped me off."

"…" Alex raised his left eyebrow and murmured to himself, "The buildings?"

An explosion struck the boy's back and budged him forward, and with a widening of his eyes he turned around and saw more machines approaching in droves. More importantly for him though, his attention became fixated on a building in the middle of the city in the midst of construction, complete with red steel girders and a pearl white statue in the center of it.

"Speaking of buildings, I _could_ do with a better view," Alex ignored all the machines and pointed at the construction site, "Lets go up there."

"Wait, why-" Before Shina could ask, Alex had already begun his warrior's charge through the machines, throwing them aside by ramming into them with his body. With a couple blinks, Shina swished her right arm out and summoned her rapier, sprinting past the machines to keep up with him. Her body glided forth without a sound, weaving past the spray of bullets and bombs the machines tried to assail her with.

In a few seconds, the two had gotten past the broken parking lot and crossed the chasm to their destination. Alex cut through the walls that tried to crush him, and landed on a perch of girders at the very top. Shina joined up with him a moment later, leaning down and laying her hands atop both kneecaps to catch her breath.

Alex stood at the edge of the platform and laid a hand across his forehead, peering over the horizon. City, city, and more city, that's all that he could see for miles on end. After she had stabilized her breathing, Shina tip-toed behind Alex and whispered into his ear, "What're you even looking for?"

"Anything that could help us peg what era this is." He replied with a hint of frustration.

"Its…21XX?" Shina gave a swift and obvious answer, carrying a tone that came across almost as mockery to the boy. With a gruff swing of the head back he gave her a halfway shut glare.

"No, just… _no_ Shina," Alex groaned and shook his head while turning it back ahead, "What I **meant** is like…What's going on in the world? There's clearly Mavericks on the loose, but that could mean anything. I need to know what incident we're dealing with before we make a move."

"Well…how about starting with that?" Shina raised her right hand and pointed over Alex's shoulder. The boy closed his eyes and thought she was trying to have a little fun, and thus grumbled the entire time he turned his body around.

To his shock though, there was actually something worth pointing out. And considering it's gigantic, looming presence, it's not as though he could ignore it. The statue's head had detached and floated over, tilted so it's marble eyes were pointed straight at the two. With mouth agape, Alex was left biting his tongue and whispered to himself, "Well I'll be damned…"

"…Interesting. I was certain that I had infected every Reploid in the immediate area, but it appears two managed to slip under my radar." A deep, bellowing voice spoke through a stone-tight mouth, brimming with certainty in his words.

"Reploids?" Shina remarked with brows raised, shaking her head twice in rapid succession, "Uh-uh, we're humans!"

When Alex glared at her past the breadth of his right shoulder, she rescinded her statement just a bit, "…Sort of."

"Hmmm…" The head shifted left for a moment and centered itself in front of Alex, bits of marble crumbling off his face like dust. Alex, however, responded by drawing his sword and thrusting it up towards the nose of the statue. Cracking a grin and chuckling, the boy had managed to draw the person's attention fully.

"Well, thanks for saving us all the trouble of hunting you down, Sigma!" He proclaimed, to which the Maverick reeled his massive head away from the platform and tilted his head slightly to the left.

"So you know who I am? Interesting…You must be Maverick Hunters. Foolish ones, to be sure, but it's a role that can only be fulfilled by Reploids…Not humans."

"We're **not** Reploids," Alex insisted, setting his blade on fire to the point that it's blaze cast a shadow on his face, "Now, there's two ways we can go about it. You can hand over the artifact piece, and then we'll kill you."

A flash of light came from Shina, for she had activated her Gunslinger Drive and transformed into a different attire. Crossing her arms out before her chest and pointing her pistols at Sigma's face while squinting one eye shut, she finished Alex's ultimatum, "Or we'll kill ya, and take the artifact piece from yer corpse!"

"…Artifact piece?" Sigma enunciated his words with a tinge of genuine bewilderment, earning him the hardened glares of the two he faced.

"Don't try and play stupid with us!" Alex proclaimed.

"We've done this song and dance plenty of times! Baddies like you somehow always get a hold of the pieces!" Shina added.

"Hahaha. How humorous…" Sigma lost none of his confidence in the face of such a grand display of defiance, and as his face started to chip apart he retorted, "And what if I **did**? Why would **I** yield to the demands of a couple of garden-variety Reploids like **you**?"

Alex slanted his eyes and looked completely unamused. Grabbing his sword in both hands, he stared Sigma straight on and threw a nonchalant remark towards his partner, "Shina, back off."

She gave a nod and took a couple steps back, watching as Alex swung his sword over his head and summoned a raging inferno around, proclaiming to Sigma, "Can a Reploid do THIS?!"

He smashed the blade right into Sigma's chin, setting off an explosion that covered his entire head and shook the building down to the girders bound in concrete. Shina stood still and let the breeze from the explosion pass her by, moving only her hair. Keeping her guns held tight, she used her scounter to scan through the smoke and commented, "Ya know, that's not enough to kill him…"

"I know…" Alex stood up and swung his sword out to disperse some lingering embers without a smile on his face, "But it _felt_ good."

A flash of light broke through the smoke, and after a flinch Shina fired a bullet in front of Alex to give him a deflective shield of aura. A blue laser struck the shield and bounced upward, smashing through a higher girder and splitting it in half. The rest of the smoke parted to reveal that the marble décor was now gone, leaving Sigma's ugly mug looming over the two unharmed.

"Seems you two are a little more… _special_ than I had realized. I look forward to seeing what kind of havoc you shall wreak in my name." Sigma's words sent a chill down their spine.

Then, the door opened up, and Sigma turned his head to face it. With an echoing guffaw, he addressed the company that had arrived with mocking pleasantries, "X! Zero! You kept me waiting…"

The duo looked in that direction and saw this world's famous duo of Hunters appear on the scene. The blue, buster wielding X and the red, sword wielding Zero stood ready to fight right away. Alex noticed that X was looking at them with surprise, probably because they are humans getting involved in a war of machines. However, Alex simply looked at the two Hunters with a realized dread of inevitability and grumbled, "Aw crap…Figures we'd run into you two."

"…I-I'm sorry, have we met before?" X inquired, picking up on the boy's dismissive tone of familiarity. Shina, skewing her priorities, looked at the two and waved a pistol beside her head, greeting them with a smile.

"The name's Shina, Shin-"

"Save the introductions for later!" Zero swung his sword out in his right hand towards Sigma, exclaiming with utter disdain pressing through his scowl, "I knew you wouldn't stay dead for long, Sigma! What're you up to this time?!"

Heeding Zero's advice, X ignored the strangers for the time being and aimed his buster at Sigma's face, remaining cautious as his foe's head turned to face all of his company at once.

"You know exactly _why_ I have returned, Zero." Sigma threw the question back into Zero's face, only for the Hunter to grip his sword tighter and tell him off, "Ghh, you're never going to succeed, **Sigma**! We'll stop your rebellion no matter how many times you come back to life!"

"Yes, and you've done a _wonderful_ job so far. I'm sure Iris would be _proud_."

Zero's grip tightened to the point of crumpling the handle, and in the blink of an eye he catapulted his body off the ground with sword swung back and eyes incensed with a burning rage.

"SIGMAAAAAAA!" He prepared to stab his sword into the jewel on Sigma's head, only for the Maverick to blast him square in the chest with a small laser from his mouth and send him flying back into a girder behind X.

X shot Sigma in the face with a charged shot, blowing a chunk of the metal on his cheek off and revealing a squirmy, slimy green mish-mash of wires and oil underneath. Seeing him as more of a monster than a machine, X grit his teeth and squinted his right eye shut, preparing yet another charged shot to blast the exposed section.

Sigma spun around and intercepted the charged shot with the back of his head, his girth pressing against the air so hard that it brushed the others back a few feet with a turbulent gale. Then he stiffened himself, positioned perfectly in line with X, and opened his mouth up wide. Energy was charging inside, ready to burst forth in a laser that'd annihilate all in it's path.

X clutched his buster close to the chest and rolled to the right, aiming it at the side of Sigma's face. The Maverick stayed locked-on to him however, and fired the moment X seemed certain he had evaded it. The Hunter's gaze froze upon the sight of the laser, but then became fixated on the shadow cast by Zero as he got in the way of the beam and swung his blade down to divert it.

"Khh…! I've got your back X, now shoot!" Zero was been dragged back at the heels as he held the laser. X nodded and then swerved his body to the left, the cascading energy making it difficult to see where Sigma was.

"I can't get a lock on him!" X declared with minor frustration in his tone.

"Then allow me to lend a hand…Or a gun!" Shina proclaimed, standing away from the parted laser with knees bent and a rocket launcher of aura propped up on her right shoulder. Alex waited beside her for an opening to strike, his sword clasped in both hands before the waist.

Shina fired a ballistic rocket straight into the side of Sigma's head, the force of the blast swerving his head to the right and left his laser to burn a hole through a pair of girders. X sharpened his focus and cocked the charged buster at Sigma's head, firing without a second's hesitation. The projectile smashed into his forehead and forced his whole body to rear back.

Zero dashed forward while Alex vaulted off the ground, performing a drawn-out forward flip as he swung his sword back in both hands and flew at Sigma with his whole body curving back. Zero ran his blade along the ground and concentrated on Sigma's chin, while Alex aimed for the space between the Maverick's brows. Then, at the same time, they launched their attack.

Zero raised his blade and dug a diagonal cut through Sigma's chin, spinning around and raising his weapon back in both hands while doubling out the blade's length. Alex planted his feet into the sides of Sigma's nose and pressed him down, reversing the grip on his blade and channeling the falling lightning into it.

"Take this!" Alex and Zero exclaimed as they unleashed their decisive blows. Zero swung his blade down and cleaved through Sigma's face from the nose down to the bare tip of his chin. Meanwhile, Alex stabbed his sword deep into Sigma's forehead and unleashed the energy in the form of a gigantic lightning bolt, which pierced it's way through Sigma and burst forth through the other side.

Alex flipped back and landed beside Zero, raising his left hand for a high-five. The Hunter didn't even look his way, continuing to keep his gaze focused on Sigma's head as it bobbed in place, suspended just a few feet away from the platform.

"Hah…hahaha!" Sigma's voice echoed across the sky, his body breaking apart molecules at a time and turning into a groggy purple mist. Zero narrowed his glare and knew nothing good to come of the Maverick's arrogance.

"What's so funny, Sigma? It's over. You've lost!" He exclaimed.

"Lost…? No Zero…It is only with this defeat, that I have **finally** won!" Sigma's degeneration hastened with his roar of victory, the mist thickening into a cloud that began to stretch up towards the sky.

The four heroes gathered there grimaced in surprise, with Alex and Shina flinching as Alia's voice entered theirs and the Hunter's ears, _"Get out of there! All of you! NOW!"_

"Alia?" X responded hastily in confusion, "Alia what's going on?!"

" _There's no time to explain, just GO!"_ The urgency in her voice is what grabbed X's attention the most, and with a sharp tug on his shoulder from Zero he looked back and saw him gesturing towards the door.

"You heard her X, it's time to bail!"

As the two Hunters ran for the door Alex stood still, finding himself more fazed by the sudden noise in his ear than he was Sigma detonating, "How in the he-"

Before he could finish, Shina forced her grip around his wrist and began to tug him towards the door, "Well **now** we know what time it is! It's X5, which means Sigma's seconds away from infecting the entire planet!"

Alex then wrenched his hand free from her grip and dispelled his blade, glaring her in the eyes. It took him a second to register what Shina had said, and a second more for it to dawn on him what he had just allowed to happen. With his eyes popped open and teeth bit together, he exclaimed, "Oh son of a bi-!"

"Hey! We're taking shelter at the bottom of the building. Come on!" X yelled out to the two just in the nick of time, and without any further lingering on their mistake the duo joined the Hunters right past the door.

Sigma was left alone, his pressure building to the point that he was moments away from bursting. Amongst the sea of purple haze, the Maverick's body could no longer be seen, but his voice bellowed out for all to hear.

"X, Zero…Reploids and humans alike! Every plan I've carried out, every life I've taken…That was only the beginning! Take a good look…for all of you shall bear witness to the rise of my glorious new world!"

His voice carried out across the entire city, frightening those who continued to dare take refuge there. By the time the four had reached the bottom of the building, their balance was shaken by a violent blast that sent tremors out for miles around. With only Zero managing to prop himself on his knees, he looked up and watched as the purple haze spread across the sky in all direction, overtaking everything in it's path.

The blue skies were blanketed in an unnatural glow, the clouds were dispersed until not even their atoms remained, and the wind was replaced by the haunting howls of Sigma's laughter. Zero, X and Shina could only stare without comment, for there were no words to describe what they were witnessing. Alex, on the other hand, didn't seem the least bit concerned, even as Alia chimed in again with her observations of the event.

" _The Sigma Virus…It's not just covering the city! The cloud keeps expanding without end…At this rate, it won't be long before it covers the entire planet!"_

"T-the entire planet?" X was shaken, his body gripped with a fear that not even a human would be able to comprehend, "That's…that's impossible!"

"I don't think it matters how possible it is now, X…" Zero stood at his comrade's side and pointed out towards the city. Already the effects of the virus took hold on it's citizens, robbing the Reploids of their free will and sending them into a wild, unstoppable frenzy. Their bodies spasmed as they assaulted the city with their frames and weapons, doing whatever it took to destroy all that was in their path.

It wasn't long before the city was swept up in an inferno born of dozens upon dozens of explosion, and the cries of the humans in the midst of the maelstrom were all deafened forever. Shina clasped her hands in front of her mouth and shook her head, crying out in an agonized, horrified tone, "This is too cruel…!"

X tightened his right fist and swung it before his chest, burning away the fear inside with an indescribable rage, "Sigma…! You…are going…TO PAY FOR THIS!"

Only a hand on the shoulder from Zero offered the tiniest bit of relaxation to X's mind, and after giving him a nod of agreement Zero laid a hand on the side of his head and addressed both him and Alia.

"We can't do anything here. Alia…?"

" _I'm recalling you back to base immediately. And I'm bringing those other two Reploids back as well. I hope you don't have a problem with that."_

Zero glanced over his shoulder at Alex and Shina, who were overhearing the conversation with differing interest. After a hesitant sigh on the matter, Zero relented to Alia's wishes, "Not like we have a choice…Can't just leave them here at ground zero."

Before the virus could drape over all four of them, Alia managed to convert their bodies to light and teleport them to safety. But in a world soon to be under Sigma's thrall, being 'safe' may no longer be an option…

 _Next Time: Countdown to Destruction_


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Ravager of the Wilds, Grizzly Slash**

Carried away in the blink of an eye, the duo of Alex and Shina arrived with X and Zero at their base of operations. The teleportation capsule was not designed for multiple people to arrive on it at once, and thus the four ended up falling onto the floor.

What could have been a moment of levity in dire times was brushed off without a care, as the four got to their feet in a couple of seconds. Zero, the first to rise, dashed to the doorway and looked out into the hall. Dozens of Reploids were mobilizing to the command center off to the right, each one wondering what was going on with the world outside.

X walked up to Zero and stayed a foot behind him with Alex and Shina at his side, commenting on the presence of his comrades with unease, "Everyone in the base is gathering to the command center."

"We should head over ourselves...Alia owes us an explanation on what just happened." Zero walked along in a collected stride, succumbing not to the panic that had swept its way through the base like a vicious tidal wave.

Before he could follow, X glanced aside at the mysterious duo and asked, "Are you coming with?"

"...We probably should." Alex remarked after contemplating the situation for a few seconds, his head bobbing around with a expression of detachment regarding how serious things had gotten.

"Alex?" Shina was puzzled, but expressed so quietly. With an appreciative nod of the head, X scrunched his brows together and sunk into his own thoughts as he chased after Zero. Managing to make their way into the crowd of Reploids, all four of them managed to reunite close to the command center's entrance.

Signas was front-and-center where the surveying hologram of the planet would normally be, and Alia was at his side with a laptop sandwiched between hand and hip. The room was stuffed to the brim with Reploids, making it surprising that there was even room to move let alone breathe.

Signas' stern gaze combed the room down to the last inch, ending once he focused upon X and Zero's presence. He did a good job hiding his sigh of relief behind a raised fist, then proceeded to tuck it behind his back and address his forces.

"Maverick Hunters...We have stood together through thick and thin against many crisises that have threatened our world. But this current crisis threatens to not only destroy us, but our entire world as well."

At his prompt, Alia propped the laptop on an arm crossed before her chest and began typing. Signas walked away so she could project the scene taken from X and Zero's point of view. The sight of all the chaos unfolding left the Reploids speechless. They could only observe, their gaze frozen cold.

"Sigma has returned once more, and in our haste to stop him we have fallen for his deadly trap. Now his virus is being spread across the planet, infecting every Reploid that it can reach. We have no idea how long it'll take before it covers the whole planet, but until we can come up with a vaccine it is advised that every Maverick Hunter stay within the designated safe zones." Alia pulled those up on a large map a second later.

Then with a sigh, Signas had to muster up the courage to continue on. Not because he feared the subject, but rather that he was worried for his fellow Hunters.

"But that's not all. The space colony Eurasia has been hijacked by an unknown entity, and it's on a one-way collision course with the planet. We have predicted that in sixteen hours, the space colony will crash down here..." Signas gestured his arm diagonally towards the map, marking a location at least a thousand miles away from the HQ.

The melancholic gasps of a thousand Reploids gave Signas a moment of pause, but he sturdied his resolve and delivered the harsh reality to his troops, "Our science has determined that all the energy built up in the space colony, combined with the velocity it descends...Will be more than enough to wipe out all life from the planet."

There was no force alive that could have halted what happened next. It started with a few gasps, then grew and spread out across the crowd until every Reploid save for X and Zero was in an uproar. All of them cried out "We're all going to die!' or something similar, and became tangled up amongst each other in their attempt to flee.

Alex and Shina were swept up in the madness, with Alex swiftly losing his patience towards all the metallic limbs that were being shoved into his face. He opened his mouth ready to try and calm the crowd with what was sure to be a deafening call, but before even a syllable emerged Signas stamped his foot on the ground to thunderous effect and roared to the crowd, "But we will NOT surrender!"

What was once becoming little more than a horde of rampaging lions was swiftly tamed by the authority and calm that Signas displayed. Everyone turned their attention towards him, their bodies as docile as kittens, and their eyes projecting a curious wonder.

"We have survived up until now, and we will **continue** to survive! Though it may seem hopeless now, we still have a couple of secret weapons at our disposal." Following his heed, Alia made two images appear in place of the map.

The first shower a giant laser cannon positioned in the middle of a rocky wasteland, and the second displayed a rocket shuttle kept hidden in a hangar close to the cannon. With just the mere presence of those images, all remaining panic in the Reploids' mind was washed away for now.

"A while ago, a group of Maverick Hunters scavenged an old laser cannon by the name of 'Enigma'. Our first course of action is to gather the parts necessary to enhance it's power, and then fire it at Eurasia. Should the laser prove insufficient, then we will gather the parts needed to enhance our strongest rocket shuttle, and ram it into Eurasia to destroy it."

Signas raised a fist to his chest and gave it a hard thump, looking out to the crowd and giving out one last declaration, "It doesn't matter how bad things look. Our goal is and always shall be to ensure the protection of humanity from Mavericks. We will NOT let Sigma have his way!"

In just the span of a minute, Signas turned despair into hope, and the Reploids now threw a fist into the air and echoed a cry across the room, "We are Maverick Hunters!"

"Now...move out!" Signas swung his arm straight out, finishing his speech with a rallying declaration. The many Reploids cleared the room in an organized manner, but X, Zero, Alex and Shina figured they were still needed and stuck around.

Sure enough, Signas focused his gaze on the four and stepped down from the self-made podium with Alia tailing close behind after returning the hologram to normal. Signas stopped a couple feet before X and looked him in the eyes, seeing his regret projected through his shaky pupils.

"I-I'm sorry Commander. I made the wrong call, and because of that-"

"Sigma tricked us all. There's nothing to apologize for. Just keep fighting as hard you can, both of you." Signas looked towards Zero for a second, but then found his gaze moving towards the other two that had helped fight Sigma. Alex waved one hand up from his crossed arms in a lazy manner, for he was a little offended that him and Shina were ignored for this long.

"Ah, so you're the Reploids that fought alongside X and Zero. I don't know where you came from, but-" Signas had nothing but respect to give to the two, but Alex threw it all back with an icy glare and an ill-tempered scowl.

"OK, lets just get one thing straight here buster," Alex popped his eyes open wide and flicked his pointer finger back and forth at him and Shina, "The two of us? Humans. H-U-M-A-N-S."

Signas blinked a couple times while X's mouth was agape from the sheer unmitigated gall the boy had to say that. Shina, left embarrassed by his response, stiffened upright and creaked her right arm up beside her smiling face before slowly waving at the Commander.

"I don't know who programmed you both, but you're not fooling me with that talk." Alia interjected while typing away at her laptop, not even giving the group a second of her attention until she started to turn the laptop around. On display was the framework data for a standard Reploid, and next to it was the data for Alex and Shina. Between the two was a percentage for how much the data matched up. As the two leaned in for a closer look, the skin around their eyes stretched out to the point of touching the ivory rigidness of their skulls.

"99%?!" They both yelled out, their voices getting overheard by all the navigators still in the room.

Registering the panic and confusion in their voices with a intrigued stare, Alia closed the laptop up and placed it at her hip before pressing the two for information, "Wait, what's going on here? Did you two honestly believe you were humans?"

"I can say for certain we were an hour ago!" Alex exclaimed, his arms swung out beside his hips as his lack of patience left him flustered, while the severe lack of sweat permeating from his pores further increased his confusion.

Shina, meanwhile, had leveled the back of her wrist out in front of her chest and placed a couple fingers atop her veins. There was a pulse present, but it came through with a slow, static-y sensation. The muscles underneath her skin were also replaced with a cold, metallic stiffness. She turned her head towards Alex and hastily said, "Alex this is really weird!"

Zero crossed his arms against the chest and glared at the two of them, having no subtlety in his suspicions, "Something's not right here, but we don't have time to deal with it."

He began to reach for his sword and glanced at X, expecting him to raise his buster in sync with him once he mentioned, "X, help me get these two detained. We'll question them after this whole mess with Sigma is resolved."

Alex turned his gaze to the Hunters and squinted his eyes into a disbelieving, piercing glare, proclaiming to him, "Are you SERIOUS? We're not your enemy."

"You're going to have to do more than that to convince us, Mavericks." Zero made his stance clear as day, that he had no tolerance for possible spies. X, however, planted his hand firmly on his friend's elbow and told him, "Hold on Zero. Lets give them a chance to explain themselves."

"You can't be serious X! Don't tell me you've forgotten Double!"

"I haven't. If anything about their story seems off, then we'll detain them." X took the matter more seriously than Zero had initially jumped to conclusions on. Staring at his friend with a twinge of regret, he moved his hand away from the sword and stared at the mysterious two.

Alex looked around at the stern gazes projected through the eyes of the four Reploids, all filled with anticipation. Then, he focused on Shina, who was biting her lower lip and examining every square inch of her body for other oddities. Stopping her with a hand rested atop her right shoulder, Alex took on the role of the collected mentor as he advised to her with a whisper, "Shina, we'll worry about this in a moment. I'd rather **not** get arrested again."

"R-Right..." Shina responded with a flaccid nod and tired look in her eyes, then joined Alex in facing the Hunters. Over the next few minutes, the two gave a quick explanation on their journey so far. They had no choice in the matter but to reveal they were from another world, along with explaining the artifact pieces and why they had chosen to fight Sigma. Once the story had finished, the Hunter were surprisingly calm about the whole thing.

" _I guess this_ _ **isn't**_ _the craziest thing they've dealt with all day..."_ Alex thought while scratching the side of his head.

Signas, in the midst of rubbing his chin, repeated the tail-end of the story to the two in an inquiring manner, "So you were fighting Sigma because you believed he had the stone you were looking for?"

"That's the pattern we've dealt with so far, but this time..." Alex stopped himself and let out a drawn-out groan of frustration. Zero glanced at him and stated to everyone gathered, "This still seems fishy to me..."

"The story is really out-there for sure, but...I don't think they would've been able to make it up under pressure," Alia deduced with stoic rationalization, but during that she appeared to be doing some calculations on her laptop, "You two should just consider yourselves lucky that you weren't infected by the Sigma Virus."

"...In hindsight, yeah, we got off lucky." Thanks to her, Alex managed to find a reason to be relieved for a moment rather than stressed.

"I'm sorry you got roped into this mess," X said with his utmost condolences, which only gave his proceeding tone a tinge of regret, "But we're in no condition to help with your search."

"We're already putting every last resource we have into stopping Eurasia." Signas added to the conversation.

But, with a nonchalant lean of the towards the Commander, Alex up-front said, "That's why we're going to help you stop Eurasia."

"You are?" X and Signas murmured in surprise.

"We ARE?" Shina was more pronounced in her surprise, and in a second was grabbing Alex by both his shoulders and dragging him aside. She held onto and pulled him in closer until their noses were touching, making certain he'd see every millimeter of her blank glare.

"Alex, aren't you always the one telling me not to screw around?" She whispered firmly into his ear.

"Yes?" Alex's response was a puzzled one.

"That we should always, ALWAYS prioritize the artifact over anything else?"

"Yes?"

"...I-I want to help these guys, sure but...How's stopping Eurasia gonna help US?"

Alex could understand her pressing need to be selfish this time, and was deep, deep down glad to hear her questioning his decision. Thus, with a shrug of the shoulders he crossed his arms and closed his eyes, telling her with the utmost rationale in his tone, "We scratch their back and they scratch ours. Not to mention we'll be able to cover a lot more ground for the artifact piece while helping them get the parts they need."

Shina back off a bit but raised both her brows, with a tilt of the head bringing to the boy's attention, "Alex, couldn't ya just blow up Eurasia yourself?"

"...I could, but I won't." Alex's response sounded rather cruel from Shina's point-of-view, but as she let out a gasp the boy swung his right hand up to stop her.

"It's too risky. The debris from the colony will still ravage the planet. Besides, we both know the Maverick Hunters' method is safer."

After some concise reasoning from her friend, Shina gave half a smile and let her eyelids slump a third of the way down, telling him with the utmost sincerity, "I'm sorry I doubted you Alex."

Alex then turned towards the Maverick Hunters and approached them, commenting with a hand waved out before his stomach, "I've wasted enough of your time. Lets go save the world."

Zero glanced at the boy, still having some reservations that he kept to himself as he spoke, "Yeah. We only have sixteen hours to stop Eurasia, right?"

"Right. OK, so if you two are going to help us, then you'll need to be briefed on Maverick Hunter proce-"

"Alia, is this really the time?" Alex rudely interrupted, though it ended up being something that Zero agreed with as he said, "He's right. Just tell us where the parts we need are."

Alia stared out towards the horizon for a few seconds then looked at her laptop, pointing it and herself at the hologram projector. Popping up the map of the world on it, Alia began to tap away at the keyboard with just one hand, managing dozens of lines of code in a mere few seconds.

"There's eight parts in total, four for each weapon we plan to use. The parts for the Enigma are in a quarry, a scrapyard, an arctic ocean, and a secluded island laboratory, each of them guarded by a different Reploid."

At the side of the map popped up four mugshots of some pretty dangerous looking machines. One looked like a bear, another a squid, the next one a killer whale, and the final based on what appeared to be a firefly. X registered their appearances into his memory banks and then glanced at Alia, inquiring with a bit of surprise, "Wait, none of them are Mavericks?"

"No...At least, not yet." She responded with a stoic but grim reminder. X hung his head a bit and clenched a shaky fist up to his chest, thoughts of anger towards Sigma welling up inside.

"What about the shuttle parts?" Zero spoke up.

"We'll worry about those if the Enigma fails. For now, concentrate on these four locations." Alia managed to come off as quite evasive towards the subject, but Zero didn't bother to press her on it.

"Four locations, four of us," Alex counted off with a glide of his pointer finger around the room, ending by pointing at his chest, "If we split up, we'll have plenty of time to spare."

"No dice." Alia responded, and Alex's confident expression slumped into a dejected scowl and glare.

"...Whyyyy?" His response was drawn-out and just the tiniiiiest bit peeved, as though he had already anticipated her dissuading interruption. However it was not her who answered, but Signas.

"As I said before, our resources are spread thin. That includes our power supply. We only have enough energy to send one person out to retrieve the parts at a time."

Alex blinked a couple times and then crossed his arms, responding with a swift and nonchalant tone, "My mistake."

" _And flying is out of the question while the Sigma Virus is around...Grrh, being turned into a Reploid is such bullshit..."_ While the boy lingered on the mystery of his and Shina's changes, he almost didn't hear X and Zero discussing what to do next.

"So which one of us should go first?" X started off.

"I'll go X. You should regain your energy after fighting Sigma." Zero offered.

"I'm alright Zero. You're the one who should take a rest." X insisted with a natural concern.

"Both of ya can take a break. I'll go!" Shina spoke up with enthusiasm, laying a hand on her chest as she approached the two.

"None of you are going," Alex interrupted, waiting for the group to look at him before he walked towards Alia and asked, "Set the teleporter for the quarry. I'll go pick up the Enigma part there."

"Alright. Direct teleportation to the quarry is impossible due to interference from the machinery inside, but I can put you on a train going straight towards it." She began to type coordinates into the laptop, while Alex slanted his brows and sighed, "I'll take what I can get, I guess..."

"Alex, you sure about this?" Shina leaned forward and whispered as he turned around.

Alex walked past her with a cool attitude to him that could not be broken, stating with the delicacy of a suave gentleman in his voice, "Relax Shina, I'll be fine."

"...Okay, if ya say so." She couldn't hide the concern she had, nor could she avoid seeing him off with a solemn stare.

The boy looked back for a moment and Signas waved him off, stating with the same pride he carried for any other Maverick Hunters, "Good luck out there..."

But then he paused, eyes widened with a midge of embarrassment as he asked, "What is your name?"

"Alex Whiter...sir." Though brief, Alex gave the Commander his respect before departing the room. Along the way to the teleporter, he reflected on Shina's concerns and raised his head back, letting out a tired sigh.

" _...Even after what she said, I still can't stop caring about her...Geez, when did I get so soft?"_ After a brief rub of the back of his head, Alex made a sharp turn into the teleporter room and stepped on the capsule. The moment he did, the weight in his body vanished as was converted into a beam of light, compressing him down to a size that wouldn't be visible even under a microscope. Then, he was sent off, flying through hundreds of miles of land and sky in a single instant.

Alex was dropped off on the back of a moving platform speeding along a straightforward railway over at least a hundred miles an hour. The sudden drop left the boy knelt down with a hand resting upon the cold platform. If there was anything he could appreciate about being stuck as a Reploid, it was that his stomach was not about to churn amidst the other wozziness his body was wrought with.

He pushed himself up and gave his body a quick shake. The train was traveling through a rocky mountain landscape, and the sky was dark and starry. There was no walls on the train, it was designed purely for cargo, but there were plenty of Reploids on-board meant to guard the vehicle.

Alex didn't care for them though, too busy rotating his shoulders to work out a couple kinks in the body. There were metallic snaps coming from where his bones should be, and that left a sour look on his face.

" _Alex, can you hear me?"_ Alia's voice suddenly chimed in through Alex's right eardrum. He jerked his head to the left in recoil and shook it on the way back, laying a hand on the side of his head before he replied.

"Seriously, how are you..." He grumbled for a little then sighed, giving a more genuine answer, "Yes, loud **and** clear."

" _Great. Once you reach the quarry, you'll need to find it's owner, Grizzly Slash. He's a weapons broker that has a record of selling weapons to both Mavericks and Maverick Hunters. From our information, we've determined he's holding onto a crystal ball which will be able to amplify the Enigma's power tenfold."_

"A weapons' broker? That sounds like a Maverick to me." Alex remarked.

" _He works for us too...At times. As long as he keeps providing us service, we won't hunt him down."_ Signas interrupted.

"Hrmm..." Alex grumbled and parted his lips into a waggling scowl.

" _Just be careful around him. He can be pretty irritable."_ Alia advised.

" _And we're sending_ _ **Alex**_ _to meet with him? Hehehe..."_ Shina chimed in with an innocent observation. Alex popped his eyes open and grumbled out in a fluster, "S-Shut up Shina, I can handle negotiations!"

Lowering his hand, he grumbled through gritted teeth, "Guess she's just fine after all..."

He then swung his arm out and drew his sword, looking towards the Reploids up ahead as the wind brushed against his body, nipping at his skin worse than it ever did before.

"Right...Mission start!" Alex kicked off in an unstoppable sprint forward, ramming right into a green vehicular Reploid with his sword extended out. Piercing the windshield, Alex flipped over it's body and ripped it off the ground, swinging the blade down to hurl the Reploid towards a group of thick rolling Reploids.

The girth of the vehicular one overpowered the rest and blew them up, culminating in the vehicular one being unable to weather the blasts anymore and exploding itself. Alex leaped through the final blast and dove his foot through three gun pods that tried in vain to shoot at him. He pierced the pods and planted them against the ground, where they exploded on his foot.

Alex then bit his teeth together and wrenched his leg back, finding that bits of skin around the ankles had been broken off. Bending down, the boy started using his elemental powers to try and patch the wounds up, only to be forced to swing his left arm up in order to block a spray of bullets coming his way.

More pods were flying his way, joined by a few missiles launched from the sides of the train. Toughening his arm by copying the metal from the train, Alex stood up and hopped back, stamping his right foot on the ground to dislodge a sharpened plate that had been created by the earlier explosions. The plate flipped around a few times until Alex leapt and launched it with a spinning kick, intercepting the missiles and causing them to blow up on the pods.

With his opposition dealt with for the moment, Alex caught his breath and commented on the damage he had taken, "Right, have to be more careful..."

He then ran ahead, picking up his speed so he wouldn't get tagged by anymore stray bullets. He crossed a couple platforms in seconds and sliced down any Reploid in his path, his slices leaving marks in the air that lasted even as he left them far behind. He wasn't going to waste time on mooks, and left piles of scrap in his wake.

Nearing the front of the train, Alex swung his body to the left as a massive laser was fired off, throwing himself off the side and taking flight to traverse the rest of the way forward. At the hull of the train was a laser cannon mounted on the back. A brilliant idea weaved it's way into Alex's mind, and he descended directly in front of the laser cannon as it swiveled towards him for another attack.

Digging all his fingers into both sides of the cannon, Alex magnetized his feet and then tugged as hard as he could. The structural integrity of the hull couldn't hold up for long and cracked, with Alex managing to rip the cannon out with the wires intact. The energy in the cannon was disrupted long enough for him to turn around and aim it at the electricity stringing the platforms together.

The beam that was fired destroyed the connection and separated the front from the rest of the train, which braked to a halt in a matter of seconds and disappeared into the horizon. Alex then threw the cannon to the ground and clapped his hands to remove the dust.

"Two birds with one stone..." His body was then bathed in shadow, as the train made it's way into a cavern and began to slow down. Turning around, he covered himself in a flimsy aura of fire to give himself some light until the train had reached it's destination. Then, he flipped over the front of the train and landed in the middle of a cavern.

It was dry and dark, with little activity in the way of other Reploids. But there were bats, plenty and plenty of bats. Upon sensing the heat from Alex's body, the bats scattered off the ceiling and flew in a swarm towards the entrance of the cavern. The boy leapt onto a higher ledge and avoided them, crouching over to wait for them to pass. As she stood up ready to continue, however, he saw something on an even higher ledge that grabbed his attention.

The edge of a blue and white capsule poked out above a slightly jagged precipice, it's presence recognizable to Alex almost immediately. He laid a hand on the side of his head and remarked, "You seeing this Alia?"

" _Yeah. That's a capsule for X...Hmm, I wonder if there's a way I can transport it back to base."_ This was a situation that left even her perplexed, but as she pondered to herself on that subject Alex leapt up beside the capsule and poked at it with the tip of his sword.

The top of the capsule twisted clockwise and began to rise, causing Alex to leap back with his 'heart' skipping a beat. The center of the capsule brightened, projecting the holographic visage of an elderly man with a fluffy white beard extending to his stomach and a white lab coat adorned around his body.

" _It activated?!"_ Alia, meanwhile, was much more vocal in her surprise than the boy was.

Alex and the hologram exchanged cautious glances, the two blinking at the exact same time for a few seconds before the boy rid himself of the initial wave of awe and took initiative in speaking, "So...w-what's up?"

He knew who the man in question was, making it difficult for him to address him properly, and thus his tone carried none of the weight or respect that should've been given to someone as revered as Dr. Light. The doctor kept a cautious gaze locked upon Alex as he inquired sternly, _"Who are you?"_

"...My name's Alex Whiter. I guess you could say I'm an ally of X's." Alex answered honestly, though didn't know how to word it any better than that. Even with that awkward way of putting it, Dr. Light took interest in that statement.

" _An ally of X's, you say? Hmm...Very well."_ Dr. Light closed his eyes and nodded.

" _Geez, a sentient hologram. I've faced gods and demons and somehow THIS unnerves me?"_ Alex thought with his body tensing up. Turning his head away and rubbing the back of his head, he decided to try and hasten the conversation along, "Look I can get X to come here. He's not THAT-"

" _No, it's perfectly fine. If you are connected to the Maverick Hunters, then you can simply deliver this armor part to X yourself."_

"I can?" Alex murmured.

" _He can?"_ Alia inquired in turn.

" _Yes. I am...concerned about the possibility of the enemy gaining a hold of X's armor and duplicating their capabilities. So from here on out, I shall transmit the data for the parts directly to Alia. Only when the data for all four parts is transmitted will X be able to wield the Falcon Armor."_

"Sooooo all I have to do is stand on the platform?" Alex inquired, to which Dr. Light gave him yet another brief nod.

"Alright. Alia, prepare to receive the data, and let X know what's going on."

" _Can do."_ Her response was short and sweet, which Alex appreciated. He stepped onto the capsule as the hologram faded, and a waterfall of data cascaded through his body. A torrent of knowledge flooded through the boy's mind, and he couldn't comprehend even a single sentence of it. What felt like he had been learning something for an eternity had only lasted for two seconds, and thus when he got off the platform his mind was sore and shaky.

Dr. Light's hologram returned, and after shaking his head Alex turned around and met the doctor's stern but warm glare with his vision blurred somewhat.

" _I can sense the strength of your resolve, Alex. Please, protect X for me."_ On that rather odd request, the capsule shut off and sealed titself tight.

" _...Strength of my resolve?"_ Alex slumped his right brow and groaned, "What a load..."

With that matter settled, Alex dropped back down to the bottom of the cavern and continued onward. The quarry was small but filled with hard and rare stones, perfect for the use of building and fueling weapons. After climbing a short mineshaft, Alex went through a sliding steel door and dropped down into a secluded cavern with many excavated pits.

In the back of the cavern was a large, burly Reploid ripping through solid rock like it was as thin as paper with the help of a razor-sharp bear claw on their left arm. Once the sound of Alex's landing entered his ears, the Reploid perked up and growled, turning himself around to greet his company. He wore a grizzled scowl on at all times, the right of his fangs chipped and a scar cut across his right eye, leaving it blue and fogged up. The rest of his body, which resembled a brown bear, had no other scars to note.

After staring at Alex for a few seconds, the bear squinted his left eye shut and hung his claw at the hip, remarking with a thick and guttural grumble, "You're not the conductor for my cargo, are ya?"

"I'm not. I'm with the Maverick Hunters." Alex cut to the chase, keeping his arms crossed against the chest as Grizzly Slash tilted his head a bit to the left and gazed forward with an air of curiosity forming around him.

"You here for business?"

"Depends on what you mean by that."

"Well lemme put it this way..." The Reploid brandished his claws close to the chest and smirked, "Only one kind of business lets you walk outta here with both arms still attached."

"Luckily for **you** , I'm not here for that."

"Heh...Aggressive, arrogant. Yer a Grade-A Maverick Hunter alright," Grizzly Slash shook his head and then brushed a claw up beside his head, "But business is business. What do you want?"

"There's a couple things actually. First off, have you seen any curved stone around here? It would have some engravings on it." Alex etched a visage of the artifact piece out with flames, causing Grizzly Slash to raise his head back in awe as he contemplated over the question.

"No, can't say I have." He responded.

"Alright..." Alex was disappointed, but wasn't too unsurprised considering the Reploid would have gone berserk had he gotten in contact with the artifact.

"But I know you have a crystal ball on you. Right now the Maverick Hunters need it to power up a laser capable of destroying the falling space colony Eurasia."

"Hmm, yeah. Word's already spread around the world about the outbreak of the Sigma Virus and the fall of Eurasia. A few of my clients even canceled their appointments over it."

"And yet you're still out working?" Alex was deeply puzzled by the insistence the Reploid had with his work.

"Why wouldn't I? I'm not going to quit my job just because it's suddenly flu season," After brushing Alex off Grizzly Slash paused for a few seconds to remember what the initial question was, "...So, you were saying you wanted a crystal ball right? I did acquire one of those in a weapons' trade recently. Was gonna save it for someone else who might need it, but if the Maverick Hunters want it that badly I'd be willing to bargain for it."

"...Fiiiine, how much do you want? I'm sure Alia or Signas could forward whatever costs to your account." Alex began to raise a hand to his head, but Grizzly Slash raised his claw and shook his head.

"Nothing like that. I know it sounds strange, but money's not what I had in mind."

"Then what **do** you want?" Alex lowered his hand and began to feel uneasy.

"...I want you to kill me." Grizzly Slash swallowed any and all pride he had to give this request, but he only succeeded in leaving Alex looking him straight in the eyes with confusion.

"Kill you? Why the hell do you want that?"

"Heh..." The Reploid gripped around his head with the tips of his claw, smirking as he gave it a light shake, "I can already feel it digging it's way into my body, corrupting my mind to obey it's will. I doubt I'll last for very long."

"..." Alex gazed upon the Reploid with the utmost focus given, listening as he threw out a dry winded laugh and swung his claw out.

"I refuse to be a slave to that virus. And once my mind is gone, I'm just going to be hunted down by the Maverick Hunters anyways. So, if I have to die, I'm at least going to die as myself."

Grizzly Slash lashed his claw out and kicked up a gale that brushed across Alex's stagnant body. The boy closed his eyes and breathed a heavy sigh, raising both arms above his head and swinging them down with sword summoned in a wreath of flames. He peered at Grizzly Slash past the flames, and gave him his respect.

"You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain..."

"Heh, in this war kid, there's no such thing as 'heroes' or 'villains'."

Alex firmed his glare onto the Reploid and responded, "Maybe you're right. But that doesn't mean you deserve to die as a villain. I'll give you a warrior's death, Grizzly Slash."

"...Then COME!" Grizzly Slash let loose a feral roar that rocked the caverns to it's core. His claw then glistened more radiant than diamonds as he slashed them down, sending a spinning crescent high and low towards the boy.

Alex leapt over the lower one and cut through the higher one with a single slice, pausing in mid-air to gather electricity into his right leg and dive straight down at his opponent. Grizzly Slash spun his claw around like a drill and punctured the ground at his feet, sending a flurry of stone flying in all directions fast enough to make Alex pull back and plant his feet on the ground.

When the rocks subsided, the Reploid had dug his way underground. From his feet, the boy could sense his foe's movements, and he was rapidly rising up underneath him. Alex leapt back ten feet and anticipated the bear's emergence with lightning crackling across his blade. When the ground burst open and the Reploid spread rock every which way, Alex snapped his sword out with a flick of the wrist to try and whip them with a swift bolt of lightning.

Instead, the electricity reflected off, unable to penetrate the intense rotation that Grizzly Slash had built up underground. The bear curved himself and dove down at Alex, who threw his sword up and defended against the drill as the center of it collided head-on. Sparks flew out in a wild frenzy while the back of his heels grinded up crevices at least fifteen feet long.

Alex's hair flew back and his face spread out to the point of the lips flapping, with the force of Grizzly Slash's unstoppable might pressing against his body making retaliation more difficult than he had anticipated. By the time Alex's back was literally against the wall, he grew impatient of being on the defensive and channeled flames into his blade, setting them off in an explosion great enough to counter the Reploid's rotation and force him back.

The recoil of the blast pressed Alex deeper into the wall, forming cracks that reached to the ceiling. He pulled himself from the wall in a second while gritting his teeth and digging both feet into the ground, dashing after Grizzly Slash the moment he saw him land. The bear's thick feet halted his skid in a second, but during that crucial moment he scooped his claw at the ground and pressed them together to break it apart into chunks that he could fling at Alex.

The boy landed and widened his eyes, releasing a shockwave upon the rocks that sent them hurtling right back at Grizzly Slash. The Reploid was taken aback and failed to defend himself properly, and thus a couple of the sharper rocks tore through his hips and shoulders. But where he failed in his defense, the bear would more than make up for in his counterstrike.

When Alex was in point-blank range, Grizzly Slash threw his normal fist right into the boy's face and pressed his knuckles in deep. The boy, with a skull thicker than lead, pushed onward against the Reploid's might while kicking his feet rapidly against the ground to build up speed. Once he had picked up enough, he started crunching the Reploid's arm back into his elbow, forcing him to retract.

Then, pooling flames into his blade, Alex thrust it into Grizzly Slash's chest and seared a gaping hole in the center of it. The core was melted through, and in turn the Reploids' body ceased moving save for his mouth. The Reploid bore a fanged grin and his arms slumped weightlessly next to his hips.

"...You'll find the crystal ball you need in the storage unit on my back..." Grizzly Slash's voice was tired but content, and as Alex ripped his sword free the Reploid toppled over with a smile ever-present, "...Pleasure...doing business...with ya..."

His body collapsed, deactivated for good. Alex stared at his fallen, lifeless heap for a few seconds and then dispelled his sword. Walking behind the bear, he saw that he had punctured his storage unit with the blade, but luckily the crystal ball he sought was untouched. Plucking it out, he gave it a couple short flings into the air as he contacted Alia.

"I got what you were looking for. You can bring me back to base now."

" _Sure thing. But before I do, could you bring back a part of Grizzly Slash's body for me?"_

"...I can, but why?" Alex pondered while tucking the crystal into his pocket and summoning his sword back in it's place.

" _It'll be useful in analyzing the properties of the Sigma Virus so we can try and develop a vaccine...Plus X might have use for his powers."_

"Oh, alright." Alex was fine with that reasoning, and swiftly cut off Grizzly Slash's left arm to hoist over his own shoulder. Once he had accomplished that much, Alia targeted him with the teleporter and warped him back to base...

 _Next Time: Under the Sea_


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Harmony of the Deep Seas, Duff McWhalean**

Returning triumphant to the Maverick Hunter HQ with a crystal ball and Grizzly Slash's arm occupying his grasp, Alex strolled into the command center and gave Alia the ball with an underhanded lob. It was a good thing his entrance alerted her to turn around, otherwise all his efforts would've amounted to is delivering a pile of shards to her feet.

X and Zero were close by, awaiting the boy's return so they could head out themselves. First though, X was focusing on the limb that Alex had hung over his shoulder as he walked with the posture of a hunter having returned home with his prey.

"Thanks for bringing that back. You did well out there." X's didn't overdo it when it came to handing out praise. His tone was humble, and full of relief just to have an ally return back safely. Alex didn't think too much of it, however, and just flung the limb at the ground while having a cocky attitude to him.

"It's a good thing I didn't blow him up. You'd be out a power then." Alex looked up and clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, flicking a couple of his fingers up like a gun. His humored remark and casual attitude baffled both Hunters, who exchanged a glance at each other before X bent down to touch Grizzly Slash's limb. His body released a splendid aquamarine glow for just a moment, but it seems his copying power was a success as he stood up without pause after.

Alex crossed his arms and tilted his head aside, finding X's powers fascinating enough to distract his attention for at least a couple seconds. But after that, he noticed a glaring lack of Shina in the vicinity. Dropping his arms, he inquired to the others, "Where'd Shina go?"

"I didn't see her leaving," Zero responded dully before gesturing a hand up from his crossed arms, "But find her later. Right now we've got a couple more questions to ask you."

At that cue, Alia stood up from her chair while Alex slanted his brows and looked dismayed. She approached him with a scientist's observant glare scanning his body from head to toe, then stopped within arms' reach of his body. She raised his right hand up and pushed apart his eyelids until the eye itself was twitching with a watery glaze.

"...What are you doing?" Alex grunted in a haste.

"Does anything feel...off?" Alia tilted her head left and right as she slowly leaned it in closer, peering so deep into Alex's eyes she could see the receptors past the lens.

"...Like, mentally? Physically?"

"She's wondering if you've contacted the Sigma Virus." X interjected, allowing Alia the ability to remain focused on her search. But as she pulled back, it turned out she had already finished.

"Oh yeah, _that_." The nonchalant obliviousness from Alex baffled the Hunters even more than before, with Zero losing a bit of his patience and telling the boy off without relenting, "Don't be stupid! The moment you get infected, it's over! Sigma will be in control of your every action!"

Alex crossed his arms and tapped his foot on the ground, having only one rebuttal to draw on, "If Sigma controls me, you'd know."

Zero slanted his brows into a firm and piercing glare as he once again reprimanded him, "That's no excuse to fool around. If we fail, the whole planet'll pay for it."

"..." Alex closed his eyes and went quiet, hiding the bit of guilt he began to experience before he responded with the utmost honesty, "Sorry, I'll try and be more careful."

Zero kept his gaze fixated on the boy for a few seconds more until Shina's voice called out to him, "Alex! You made it back!"

Zero closed his eyes, hung his head a little, then turned away to return to Alia's computer alongside her. Shina ran up to the boy and leaned forward with her arms crossed back, "Any luck with the artifact piece?"

"No dice," Alex shook his head and looked away, continuing to be rational regarding that matter, "You weren't honestly expecting the first Reploid we met to have it, did you?"

"...I was kinda hoping," Shina wiggled a finger against her left cheek and blushed, but then gave her head a quick nod and mentioned, "But it's fine. We'll just have to double - NO - triple our efforts!"

"Heh," X found a reason to chuckle even as their darkest hour grew ever closer, "At least you're enthusiastic."

Then his expression returned to a sullen state as he remarked, "Sorry we can't help more."

"Aw schucks, don't worry about it X! Ya know what they say...Oil my back and I'll oil yours!" Shina said with an earnest smile, while Alex slapped his face beside her and let out an inaudible groan. X, on the other hand, blinked a couple times before what she said registered in his mind.

"And we appreciate the help. At times like this it's good to know who to trust." When X was done, Zero started to walk past him and head for the door.

"Huh? Where are you going Zero?" X inquired with a worried disposition. Zero paused and turned his head to glance over the shoulder, keeping a distant demeanor to him as he responded.

"Alia's sending me off to an underwater base in the North Atlantic. Seems there's a good supply of Hydrogen there that we can use to fuel the Enigma." His response had no casual undertone to it. It was straightforward, almost too much so, as when he finished he looked forward and continued to walk.

"Zero!" Only X's concerned outcry could freeze the Hunter in his tracks, wavering his dedication to duty for just a few seconds as X laid a hand against his chest and told him, "Be careful out there."

That sentence was so elementary that it could have been discarded without a second thought. Yet, Zero acknowledged it with a terse nod and a brush of the left hand up beside his face before heading out the door. When the metallic frames sealed tight behind him, Zero closed his eyes and let out a sigh, then dashed for the teleporter room. As Alia had already inputted the coordinates, all he had to do was hop in to be sent on his way.

Via this swift and sudden warp, Zero swapped one cold environment for another, as he landed underwater in the midst of an antarctic region of the world. It was so cold that his visibility was affected, meaning he could only see what was directly in front of him. The ground was rocky but thankfully not slippery, though that impediment to his movement would be the least of Zero's concerns.

" _Ze...Zero! Ze...Zero! Zero! Can you hear me?"_ There was some static, but the signal got cleared up in a couple of seconds. Zero laid a hand on the side of his head and responded calmly, "Loud and clear Alia. What's the status on this region?"

" _I'm not sure if the virus has penetrated the underwater facilities yet. But I do know that the region you're at is under the protection of a former captain of the maritime security force."_

"I might've seen that Reploid in the reports before...Duff McWhalean, right?"

" _Correct. He's an old but powerful Reploid. A bit reckless, but I doubt that'll get in the way."_

"Assuming he hasn't already been infected by the virus." Zero leaned on the side of realism in his statement, earning a deep but hesitant sigh from Alia.

" _I can only ho-...Wait, hold on a second Zero. I'm detecting a large naval vessel approaching your location."_

Zero glided his hand to the handle attached to his back and began to draw the blade to the front of his body, gazing around as far as he could see. This deep in the icy depths, any sounds were as a muffled as a foghorn coming from a ship drifting far over the horizon, even with Zero's highly advanced hearing.

"No signs of activity in the immediate vicinity. Maybe it's not an enemy?" Even with his input, Zero carried a tone of cautious suspicion in his voice.

" _Could be...? I'm not certain."_

Then, a shadow thick and wide penetrated the ocean depths and bathed itself over Zero's body. Turning around, he narrowed his glare to better perceive the descending metallic mass coming his way.

"Well, looks like we'll find out soon enough." Zero remarked as the vessel became clear as crystal. It was a green submarine with a thick, whale-like build and face, armed to the teeth with turrets and a laser cannon in the mouth.

The barrel of the cannon charged up while pointed at Zero, causing his eyes to pop open for a moment before he sluggishly leapt back in the water to evade the coming laser. The submarine evened up with the stone floor and began to pursue Zero, who landed on the ground and swung his sword near the hip.

" _The U-555? I thought that was locked up in a museum."_ As Alia spoke to him, Zero stepped back as fast as the water would allow him, swinging his blade out to cut down any missile that the submarine launched his way.

"How should I engage?" He inquired, his body struck with a slight jolt as his back hit a stony protrustion. He then made a sharp turn and vaulted onto the rock, finding himself in a tunnel that seemed narrow enough for the submarine to be unable to pursue him.

Stubborn to a fault, however, the submarine kept pressing onward, ramming it's girthy frame into the mouth of the tunnel and breaking apart the rocks above and below it. It's attempt to keep up with Zero spread cracks throughout the roof of the tunnel, breaking it apart and threatening to cave Zero in, should the weapons themselves not prove to be his demise.

" _From that angle? There's nothing you can do. If you can hold out, there's a drop-off point you can use to evade the subarmine."_ Alia stopped talking at that point to allow Zero a chance to concentrate, for he had to push every fiber of his mainframe to the limit to fend off the pressure of the depths and the onslaught of the advancing vessel.

Not being able to attack the ship directly grinded at his patience just a bit, as his instincts demanded of him to deal with any obstacle in his path. It took a lot of focus to ignore those instincts and focus on survival, especially as the submarine had already pushed halfway through the tunnel and began to cause large chunks of stone to drop upon him.

Zero interlaced upward slashes with swift, forward cuts to deal with the obstacles coming at him. However, every time he did so his ability to perceive these attacks grew worse, as his vision became cluttered with steel shrapnel and cumbersome crag.

When the submarine's cannon began to whir to life once more, Zero peered back over his shoulder and saw that the chasm Alia had brought to his attention was soon approaching. With mere seconds to respond to the coming laser, Zero buckled down on his concentration and spun around, forcing himself to trudge ahead with as much speed as the water would allow.

The submarine forgoes all other weaponry to focus on pure, singular annihilation. With little room for Zero to evade and enough power to fuel an entire city, the submarine did not hesitate and fired a laser as wide as its body, piercing through the confines of the tunnel. Zero threw his body forward and dove at the mouth of the chasm, caring not for what lied below. His hair was grazed by the bottom of the laser, while his whole body was rocked by the shockwave it unleashed.

He was thrown down upon a ledge overlooking a bed of spikes, landing flat on his stomach while his body was pecked at by a few falling pebbles. He pulled himself up in a matter of seconds and looked up, noticing that the laser had extended the length of the tunnel by an unimaginable degree. The submarine pushed on towards it, too long to be able to follow Zero into the chasm.

Zero kept a firm grasp on his sword and turned around, ready to continue on unimpeded. But, before he put even one foot forward his body was disrupted by a surreal tremor, and more rocks dislodged themselves from the lip of the newly formed tunnel above. Zero turned and cut them in twine with a single slash, widening his eyes into an exasperated glare as the submarine broke apart the rocks below itself with explosives.

Even though the blasts damaged itself, the sub didn't care. It had one purpose, one objective, and that was to see to it that Zero died. Not even the possibility of it's own demise was enough to override it's current programming.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Zero grumbled out in frustration before turning around and leaping his way across the bed of spikes, attaching to the wall beyond in order to slide further down the chasm. The submarine kept tearing through layers of rock as though they were as brittle as crackers, it's tail armed with their own turrets that perplexed Zero's descent with it's own barrage of missiles.

Zero leaned forward and dashed under the missiles, not wanting to destroy what little ground he knew he had. Without the laser to get in his way, he launched a counterattack, lunging straight off the ground and swinging his blade at the tail a few times before gravity took hold. He managed to cut down a couple of the turrets, but the remaining two succeeded in connecting with their missiles.

The Hunter was blown back into a wall above another bed of spikes, but he kicked his feet off the wall before making contacting with even a single spiky tip. He placed his sword on the back and decided to pull off a risky maneuver, intercepting one of the missiles flung his way and wrenching it around both his arms. Gripping it just tight enough to not set it off, Zero spun around and threw the missile straight back at the rocket at the center of the tail.

An explosion rocked the sub and halted it's descent, it's engines now engulfed in flames that emerged too fast for the water to put out. By the time Zero landed on the ground the vessel flew off, puncturing through an old submerged wooden ship and disappearing into the frosted fog that lied beyond.

Zero then caught his breath for a moment, believing that he got lucky with that countermeasure. Whether it was luck or not, he would no longer have to deal with the submarine and could continue on his way. Entering the remains of a ship, Zero's vision was cleared up momentarily, so he decided to take this opportunity to survey the area.

If there were any treasures in this ship, they had long since been plundered clean from the remains, with the ones responsible not even having the courtesy to leave behind a dubloon. Born into a world that ran primarily on technology, the sight of something this archaic came of as a bit surprising to the lone Hunter, and the ship ended up leaving more of an impression than he had initially expected.

But ultimately there was nothing noteworthy in regards to his mission in this area, not even an enemy Maverick that he could tail, so he decided to move on. Along the way, he laid a hand on the side of his head and stated, 鄭lia, I've found no signs of the target. Think you can run a scan of the area?

 _I'll see what I can do..._ When he got a response, Zero paused for a moment and let her sort things out, as he was in no immediate danger. It only took thirty seconds for her to reply, but not in the way he expected.

 _Nothing yet, but there's something I want you to investigate. I'm getting a familiar energy reading right below you._ Since Alia said it was worth investigating, Zero saw no reason to object. Taking a couple steps back, he bent down and examined the ground. There was enough of the floorboards chipped away that Zero noticed something blue and white underneath.

Someone must've missed this... Prying off the boards was a simple task for Zero, and he had them off in five seconds flat. Then he dropped down into the hole and landed beside the object hidden below, another Dr. Light capsule.

Zero stood still for a moment, the capsule striking a familiar cord in his mind for a reason he could not explain. When the initial wave of familiarity passed with a shake of the head, Zero took one step forward and leaned an arm down at the capsule. His touch was unnecessary, as the capsule cracked open and raised itself without warning.

He jumped back and hit the wall behind him, his body tensing up and legs left shaking at the kneecaps. With a glance down he steadied his body and took a breath, believing that only the cold was responsible for this reaction. But then his gaze lifted, fixating itself on the hologram that was now present within the capsule. A tired old man, wise even beyond the years his withered stature displayed, stood before him with a docile stare meeting Zero's perplexed face.

Time passed for Zero for an indeterminate length before he began to register the person's appearance in his mind. Something began to claw out from deep within, a sensation that he could not explain. It left his body numb and unable to move, not even to speak, and his vision grew shaky. The man wasn't responding, or perhaps he was and Zero's confusion wrought state left him unable to reply. Either way, there was but one thing Zero could make clear from all this...

Do I...know you?

 _Ah, you must Zero,_ Dr. Light responded in a welcoming tone, as though a tender man inviting a weary traveled into his warm abode, _添_ _es, X has told me a lot about you._

X...? Hearing that snapped Zero back into some semblance of reality, and with a shake of the head he regained his poise and laid a hand against the side of his face, 典hat's right...you're the one providing X with those armors.

 _Yes. And I have another one ready for him to use. But first all the data must be assembled in one location. You_ _ **are**_ _connected with the Maverick Hunters, correct?_

Yeah, I am. Zero stated with confidence.

 _Then all you have to do is step on this capsule, and the data will be transferred to Alia._ Dr. Light disappeared the moment he finished speaking, and Zero found himself drawn to stand on the platform. Data overflowed him, a river created amidst a boundless sea, but the sensation vanished within a moment.

When he was done, Zero got off and turned around, where the hologram reappeared and looked upon Zero. Dr. Light's brows furrowed a little, but perked up when he noticed Zero gazing at him. With a smile on his face, the doctor offered his sincerest gratitude, _典_ _hank you, Zero. May you continue to guide and protect X through this tiresome war..._

...I will. And thank you for being at his side all this time. Zero matched his sincerity and then turned around, leaping out of the chamber with a single bound. Dr. Light's hologram stayed active, his head hanging close to his chest before he closed his eyes and let out a troubled sigh.

Once he was back in the innards of the ship, Zero laid a hand on his helmet and inquired, 滴ey Alia...You've been working with X for a while. Did he ever mention your name to that person in the hologram before?

 _A-Actually, no, he didn't. Dr. Light just...knows who I am somehow._ Alia was a little perturbed when recalling that memory, but that tone didn't register with Zero so much as the name she mentioned.

Dr...Light? Zero's head throbbed for a moment, his fingers spreading out to tighten around it.

 _Something the matter, Zero?_

Zero's gaze froze in place for a moment before he lifted his head and crossed his arms, assuring Alia quietly, 哲o, I'm fine.

 _Well, lets not worry about the doctor for now. I've finally got a lock on our target. Turn around and ascend the shaft at the end of the ship, and you'll reach where he's holed up._

Zero turned around and found that the end of the ship was a short walk away, even with the water resistance. But as his feet touched the edge of the ship, the ground began to shake and break apart. Zero looked down, gritting his teeth as the submarine from before rose up for another assault. Now it opened the cannons on it's roof, launching bombs high up to then be rained down on Zero.

The submarine trapped Zero on it's roof, and he dashed around to avoid the bombs as they were fired. The submarine moved left and right to avoid hitting it's own bombs, but the desperate evasiveness it took gave Zero an idea to finally deal with this vessel for good. He kneeled down between a couple of cannons and drew his sword, looking up towards the ceiling to find there were a series of gigantic icicles sticking out.

The bombs' were launched lower as they got closer to the top, and it was clear that it had planned to impale Zero through the icicles if the bombs failed to do their job. However, no rampaging machine could ever hope to match the processing power of Zero's mind, which quickly concocted a means to turn the submarine's plan around on it.

When a bomb fell towards the side of the vessel, Zero acted swiftly on his instincts and leapt out, batting the bomb with the back of his elbow to launched it higher into the center of the ceiling. He then positioned himself back upright and landed on the closest wall, watching as an explosion went off above. The ceiling broke apart into many icy chunks, but more importantly the icicles were dislodged and sent plummeting into the submarine. They couldn't fully penetrate the machine's defenses, but their combined weight dragged it down into murky depths, where the cold most certainly would finish it off.

Zero then made haste to the top, leaping off the chunks of ice and stone that were cascading down into the chasm until he landed safely on a ledge. The chasm rumbled, the submarine buried underneath an insurmountable heap, while Zero could finally continue on triumphant. His climb had placed him in front of a steel door he had and would continue to see many times in his life, and with a relaxed demeanor he made his way inside.

The room he ended up in was secluded from everything else, rich with clean and smooth stone all around. Standing in the back end of the room was a big and gruff Reploid with an upper body shaped like a small whale, with four green lights in the front and beefy arms and legs he likely used to swim with. As Zero floated to the ground the Reploid turned around with a couple steps, staring at him with the stern and unmoving pair of eyes on the sides of his face.

"Ah, I recognize you. You're Zero of the Maverick Hunters. What's brought you adrift in my waters?" The Reploid held a decent degree of respect towards his company, and gestured their right hand out as his welcoming act.

"Duff McWhalean, the Maverick Hunters need permission to use this part of the ocean to produce Hydrogen for the Enigma laser. Are you willing to help us out?" Zero got straight to the point but kept his cool, not wanting to incite any possible rage the Reploid might've had.

"A laser, eh? Ah yes, to deal with that pesky falling hunk of metal..." Duff McWhalean waved a hand beside his head and grinned as best he could with his squared teeth and boxed, chiseled jaw, "Well who am I to stop ya? Take as much hydrogen as you require. I may be a sea lubber, but it'd be a harpoon to my heart to see the land be made barren."

"...Thank you for your cooperation." Zero was a bit surprised but at the same time relieved.

"However, since I've granted your request, would you be so kind as to listen to the ramblings of an old cetacea for a moment?"

"I should be getting back to base." Zero tried to respond without coming across as rude.

"I promise not to waste your time," Duff McWhalean's tone grew somber, and with a closing of his eyes he let out a sigh and crossed his arms as best he could, "My time grows short, Captain Zero. You can feel it too, can't ya? The Sigma Virus pollutes my waters like a swarm of pesky krill. I may already be infected and not even know it."

"...I've traversed many a sea, sunk into the deepest abyss, and yet it is the thought of losing myself to madness that scares me the most." Duff McWhalean lifted his head and stared at Zero with a sullen weight to his eyes.

"I know you're capable. You managed to kill Colonel during the Repliforce war, after all..." His remark caused a cross expression to form on Zero's face, but before he overextended his opinion on the subject the Reploid bit his tongue and said what was necessary, "Please. Heed this weary Reploid's request, and give me a proper burial at sea through battle...Captain Zero."

Zero didn't hesitate to draw his blade from the back and activate it with a click of the button. He brandished it at his foe and stated with a clear intent to fight, "Then don't hold anything back!"

"Ha! These joints may be rusting, but they can still keep up with the likes of you laddie!" Duff McWhalean then pounded the ground with his bare fist hard enough to quake the room. Parts of the wall behind him pushed forth in the form of icy cubes, forming an advancing wall towards Zero.

The Hunter ran at it, using his jet boots to propel himself through the pressurized water. One sword swipe was enough to cleave through the ice in his path, but in turn said swing left him vulnerable to the Reploid's agile charge. The full force of Duff McWhalean's head rammed into Zero's entire body, hammering him back into the wall.

Zero rebounded off it and the Reploid swam up, grabbing an ice cube that floated in place and throwing it into the Hunter's body. Zero recovered in the nick of time to slice the ice in twine, floating to the ground as the mammoth machine dove head-first towards his opponent. Zero turned around and swung his sword over the back, transforming raw energy into a spike of thick, hardened ice to protect himself. Even the girth of Duff McWhalean's head couldn't penetrate Zero's defenses, succeeding only in chip a bit of it off.

"You're not the only one who can use ice." Zero stated with firm confidence in himself as he kept his guard up. The Reploid smirked and pulled back with a swish of the tail, dragging his right fist back and clenching it into a fist.

"Not bad, but I break floes like that for breakfast!" He smashed his fist into the ice with a single, valiant lunge, cracking it across the middle. Then, only one more punch was necessary to shatter it whole, leaving Zero with only the tangible blade for protection.

The Hunter spun around and sliced his sword out, etching a scar down the center of the Reploids' face. Duff McWhalean swam back and landed on the ground, grabbing at the water with his fingertips and pulling them close to his body. The force of his tug dredged the underwater currents towards Zero, threatening to bury him under the many cubes of ice that still remained.

Zero placed the sword on his back and punched the ground, a flurry of light spraying forth from his knuckles as the room was bathed in a brief pearl flash. A rain of beams came down from the ceiling and pierced through the ice, disintegrating them down to a fine mist and keeping Duff McWhalean at bay.

Zero then reached right for his sword and swung it out out, firing off a wave of green energy towards his opponent. Duff McWhalean clapped his hands together to shatter the energy, but Zero then leapt over his hands and began to spin like a pinwheel towards his head with his saber acting as the blade.

Grinding along the top of the whale's body, Zero carved a fissure halfway into him before the Reploid blew him away with a blast of air from his tiny spout. Zero spun around with a firm swing of his sword, throwing his free hand up to push himself away from the ceiling and plummet to the ground. Immediately upon landing he leaned forward and charged at his opponent with sword bound near the hip.

As he swung the blade up in a hefty arc, Duff McWhalean lashed his tail at him as hard as he could. Zero tilted his blade a bit to the right and intercepted the tail with a decisive cut, cleaving it clean off from the rest of the body. The Reploid paused, eyes wide with shock, but kept fighting all the same just a second later. He turned around and dragged the very waters around his body, whisking up a current that forced Zero to plant his sword before he was carried away.

When the current seemed to start dying down, Zero leapt up without keep a grasp on his sword, floating above the scar he had created earlier with a buster at the ready. The Reploid's eyes focused upward, and an ease washed over his body like the settling tide. Closing his eyes, he waited as Zero fired a single piercing shot from his buster, puncturing the wound and penetrating Duff McWhalean's core.

The moment the core was destroyed, the Reploid's legs gave in to his incredible weight and his whole body fell to the ground in a ruined heap. Zero landed on the ground behind him and glanced back, and Duff McWhalean's body creaked as he made one final effort to speak.

"...It was a lovely...voooooyaaaaaageeee..." His voice broke down until it was completely silent. Zero was then left alone, with only the bubbles rising from the Reploid's corpse offering any noise. He walked past the Reploid and looked at his body. Until the very end, he lived with pride in his heart and a love for the sea. For a brief second before picking up his sword, Zero gave Duff McWhalean a solemn salute.

Once the sword was on his back and his opponent's tail had been picked up, Zero began to raise a hand to the side of his head to communicate with Alia. Before he said anything, however, what his opponent had said before bothered him.

" _I may already be infected and not even know it..."_

Zero glanced down at his body and looked it over in extensive detail. His arms and legs obeyed his every thought, his strength was still his own, and yet for some reason he couldn't shake off the sensation that something was wrong.

" _Zero? Zero, are you there?"_

Alia's interruption delayed his train of thought, but this time instead of denying her pressing inquiry he said, "Alia, contact the science division. When I get back, I want them to run a quick diagnosis on me."

" _...Alright. Better safe than sorry, right?"_

"Right..." Zero wasn't certain in his response, but would only be able to linger on his doubts for a second more before he was warped away from the cold, lonesome arctic depths...

 _Next Time: My Comrade_


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: The Melancholic Avenger, Squid Adler**

After Zero had returned to the base, he went straight to the command center. Everyone else was still around, biding their time while Alia multi-tasked between locating the supplies and managing the construction of the Enigma. Now that Zero laid claim to the hydrogen production, she was in contact with an extraction team to get that machine transferred over to the construction site.

With a heavy breath that anchored itself to her jaw and left it in a slack, Alia began to rub at the 'temples' of her forehead as she kicked both feet at the ground to spin her chair around. Once she caught sight of Zero entering the room, she rested her hands upon her knees and stood up and remarked, "Looks like you made it back in one piece."

"Yeah. Wish I could say the same for him..." Zero responded with a twinge of regret as he tossed Duff McWhalean's tail on the ground. Alia stared down at it for a moment and then bent at the knee, brushing her hand across it while her face slumped into a frown.

"When will this end...?" She pondered to herself.

"When we take down Sigma once and for all." Zero's reply was obvious, but the confidence he portrayed was like an uplifting draft that rose Alia to her feet once more with a bit of a smile.

"You're right," Was her sincere thanks, and afterwards she returned to her more dutiful nature and said, "Anyways Zero, the science division is waiting for you in the lab."

"Alright. Thanks, Alia." Short and to the point with his appreciation, Zero turned around and left the room without speaking to anymore of his comrades, not even X, who ran up to the two the moment he saw his friend had returned.

"Where's Zero going?" X wondered to Alia, his gaze fixated on Zero's back with an almost child-like curiosity.

"I'm guessing he's worried that he got infected by the Sigma Virus...So he went to get a check-up." Alia replied, and X swung his head aside with a gasp.

"Infected?!" He employed little control over the volume of his voice, but luckily very few paid any real attention to what he had said.

"I think he's worrying too much, personally, but you know how Zero can be sometimes." Alia said with a nonchalant shrug towards the whole situation, trying to relieve some of X's concerns with her wisdom. Though X didn't say anymore, the sluggish, groggy way he lowered his head and closed his eyes meant that he couldn't shake off the disconcerting thoughts weighing on his mind.

"Zero..."

"Hey, did Zero come back already?" With no regard for the heavy mood lingering around X, Alex walked up to the two with that question, not even having the courtesy to look at them as he did so.

"I was going to ask if he found any signs of the artifact." After staring at the door for a few seconds, the boy swerved his head to look at Alia. She stared at X for a little bit more and then sighed as she tilted her head to glance at Alex.

"Nothing so far." She responded.

Alex grumbled a bit and then gestured his right hand out, in a haste venting some of his frustration, "Then let me go to the next area. I get the feeling I'll have better luck finding it."

Then, with a light slap to the back of his head, Alex glanced back and saw Shina quickly hiding her arms behind her back and forcing an innocent smile. Slanting his brows and twisting his lips into a grizzled frown, Alex had to stand there and endure what she had to say.

"You've already had your turn Alex. Let me or X go next!" She was enthusiastic for certain, but her choice of words left a lot to be desired.

"'Had your turn'? This isn't a session of DnD Shina, we're dealing with a crisis here!" Alex flung his arms out in a huff, while Shina's smile grew wider and she began to close her eyes.

"I know that silly, but you should save your energy for later!"

"I may have used enough energy to fill a double-A battery at the _lea_ -" Midway through Alex's stomach was plowed into by a rough ram from Shina's left elbow. His body curled back a little, and then he watched as she began to nudge her head to the right while making a not too subtle grunt or two to grab his attention.

After some initial bitterness towards her forceful display, Alex looked to see X still thinking to himself. He was so deep into the abyss of melancholy that he would never be able to climb out on his own. Though he could recognize X's state of mind, Alex didn't understand why Shina had bothered him to show that and turned back towards her, saying in a frazzled tone, "Ugh, you're ridiculous!"

It was Alia who ended up helping X out of his toxic state of mind, saying without drawing any attention to the matter of Zero, "X, there's this energy engineering facility located off the shore of South Korea. We need an energy cart from that place to power the Enigma."

X's head snapped back upright with his eyes popping open as wide as they could for just a moment. Then, he gave Alia a stern and focused look before nodding his head and saying, "...Right. I'm sorry Alia, I blanked out for a moment there."

"Don't worry about it X," Alia responded warmly, "We're a team. We'll always have each other's backs."

She then looked down at the laptop she had on her and began tapping away at it while giving the screen a quick scan-over, "I'm detecting some heavy interference from inside of the facility. I'm afraid you're going to need to take a Ride Bike through the junkyard outside in order to get in."

"Is there one available?" X inquired.

"That's what I'm checking..." Alia finished tapping away at the keyboard and widened her eyes just a bit, "Yes, there's a couple left in the base. It'll be there when you arrive."

"Thank you. I'm heading out!" X gripped his hands into tightened fists and after acquiring Duff McWhalean's power turned around and sprinted right for the door. When he was gone, Alia returned to her chair and place the laptop down on the desk, tapping away to ensure everything was ready for X. Shina then approached and leaned on the back of the chair, crossing her arms up top and peering down into Alia's eyes.

"That was really nice of ya Alia."

"X needs to get his mind off Zero, but he'll never get a chance to if he stays here."

"Hehehe! How sweet, you must really like X!" Shina spoke out. Without flinching in the slightest Alia shook her head and remarked, "I'm just watching out for him like any other navigator would."

"...You suuuuuuure?" Shina leaned her head forward and nudged her brows up a couple times. With a sigh loud enough to make glass shake, Alex crossed his arms and mumbled, "Quit bugging her. At least _she's_ honest about her feelings."

The bitter tone Alex took for a moment put a dour look on Shina's face as she glanced over her shoulder and hummed to herself, the boy looking away from her a moment after.

Meanwhile, X had gotten to the teleporter and warped off to his destination. His landing was rocky, with his feet spreading apart as the flooring moved in opposing directions. After quickly stabilizing himself, X looked down and saw what amounted to just a couple feet's worth of rusted scrap at the beginning of what seemed like an endless sea of it spanning the horizon beyond.

The junkyard was encased inside of a massive square complex where not even the sky could be seen above, and in the center of this junk surrounding by a thick trench was a building at least three stories tall. It had active smokestacks and didn't seem to be under attack from either the interior or exterior. Even so, the silence permeating the area left X in a momentary state of unease.

" _Your Ride Bike is to the left X. All you have to is cross that trench and you'll be safe."_

Through Alia's guidance, X turned his entire body in that direction and saw a sleek and wheel-less red vehicle with a thin width and a single jet on the back. The pedals were attached to a slanted piece of metal below the jet, positioned in such a way that only someone as flexible as a Reploid could hope to operate it. X propped himself onto the vehicle and leaned forward, head buried behind the pane of glass as his fingers locked themselves around the handles.

With one light press of the pedals, a white wisp of flame shot forth from the jet and sent the Ride Bike flying down the steep incline set before him. In an instant, the sea of junk became a wild blur of chrome and bronze that breezed by with every second that passed.

X looked beyond the junkyward towards the building far off. It was miles away, but at the speed his Ride Bike had moved the distance crossed would be no greater than what one would take for a brisk morning jog. However, nearing the bottom of the hill, X would find that his journey would be more perilous than he had initially expected.

The ground began to collapse, a dozen or so pounds of junk being dragged into a deep chasm as though stuck in the grasp of quicksand. X pulled back on the handles and the Ride Bike's front reared upright, and from there it was in the prime position for X to tighten his grasp on the handles and fire the jets to launch himself across the gap.

"A trap?!" X exclaimed with a glance back in the middle of the vehicle's descent.

" _Hardly. This place has been filled with so much junk over the last century that even the slightest movement can disrupt it,"_ Alia responded with a calm and collected view of the landscape, _"Just pay attention. One wrong move, and you'll be join this scrapyard for good._

X swung his head forward as the Ride Bike 'splashed' down upon the surface of the scrappy sea, and he watched as more sinkholes formed within the junkyard before him. At the speeds his vehicle moved, evading these holes would require some very loose and risky maneuvering, where even the slightest miscalculation would result in him teetering on the edge of death.

With just the slightest twist and turn of the handles, X jerked the vehicle around so hard that his body began to unseat itself, forcing him to turn on the magnets of his boots if he had any hope of staying on. His body was racing, his mental facilities pushed to their brink even as the sounds of sinking metal rang in his audio receptors to distract him.

X's expression shifted between a teeth-biting grit and brief snippets of agape shock as he managed to narrowly avoid some of the holes more times than he'd wish to admit. In a minute that seemed to last for an hour, X was seconds away from the trench he needed to cross, and no other holes stood in his path. He pulled back on the Ride Bike and grabbed onto the handles as tight as he could, crunching down on their cylindrical frame.

The jet of the vehicle shot forth a spectacular blaze that scorched the surface of the junk, and the Ride Bike flew into the air to cross the trench right after. But, perhaps being a little too focused on surviving, X had managed to overload the jets, and even as he pulled his feet away from the pedals the Ride Bike wasn't about ready to stop.

As it descended towards the ground, the Ride Bike threatened to ram itself right into a thick crimson metal wall. Biting down on his teeth in a nervous clench, X released his grip and threw himself off the vehicle, slamming against the ground hard enough to rattle his head and send his body rolling a couple of feet.

The Ride Bike crashed into the wall and was blown apart, the explosion only managing to salvage a couple nuts and bolts from being consumed by a brief but towering inferno. X laid his hands on the ground and pushed himself up, the crackling of flames being the only thing he could hear until he stood up. He laid a hand against the side of his helmet and gave it a quick shake to get himself steady, then turned to face the wreckage of his vehicle.

Though, calling it wreckage might be too nice. Save for the tiniest parts, the Ride Bike was annihilated, and though it had no sentience to speak of X did have a bit of guilt for the way he mishandled it. Looking back on his state of mind as he rode, he realized that a part of him was still lingering on what was going on with Zero, and that almost led to him crashing and burning. With a head hung low to his chest, X let out a sigh, an ultimately paltry means of relief.

As he began to lift his head, he caught the glimpse of an unusual sight. The explosion of the Ride Bike had blown open a hole in the wall, and there was a room behind it. Something drew his full focus towards that hole, and began to walk towards out with an almost hypnotic blankness in his eyes. He stepped over the molten metal surrounding the hole and entered the room. Lying on the ground in front of him was a Dr. Light capsule sitting by itself, out of place in this otherwise hopeless looking environment.

Any other time, X wouldn't hesitate to approach that capsule and see his creator eye-to-eye again. But this time, doubt made his legs stiff as concrete, and his mind reflected upon the reason why. A couple months ago, in the aftermath of the Repliforce incident, Alia had managed to scavenge up a newspaper article from long ago pertaining to Dr. Light. The title, for as short as it was, burned an impression forever into X's databases.

 _Famous Robotics Expert Dr. Thomas Light Commits Suicide Via House Fire._

He hadn't had a chance to see the doctor since then to ask him about that, but even with the opportunity having presented itself X wasn't certain that he even **could**. The words escaped him, sucked into a void of doubt within his head, and he laid his arms before his waist to grab onto one of his wrists with a tired look in his eyes.

" _I'm sure he'll tell you the truth if you ask, X."_ Alia spoke up, breaking X free from the chains of doubt for just a moment.

"...I know he would, but that's what worries me. H-He's always been so kind to me Alia...I don't want to know why he'd commit suicide." X stated with an empathy to his voice that was almost human in nature.

" _I'm not going to force you X, but remember what you have to do. You can't think about this forever."_

X gave a short nod and then remarked, "You're right. I have to get a move on..."

He then walked over to the capsule, stopping just a foot in front as it opened up and the hologram of Dr. Light came into view. Unlike with the other two who had greeted him recently, the hologram smiled wide as he could and had a warmth to his appearance.

 _Greetings X. I was almost worried that something had happened to you._

X looked straight into Light's eyes for a good ten seconds, the scenery around him changing into an inferno of unimaginable size until the doctor spoke out with his head tilted a little aside, _"Are you alright?"_

The Hunter snapped to attention with his head pulled back, finding that no, he wasn't ready to say what he wanted to. With a brief nod, X looked at Dr. Light and said, "I-I'm fine, doctor..."

His eyelids slumped halfway down, and his head hung heavier than the weight of his body, "At least, that's what I'd like to tell you..."

Gesturing his hands out, X poured his worries out onto the man who had created him, knowing that he was likely to hold the answers, "The Sigma Virus has spread world-wide, and the space colony Eurasia threatens to wipe out the world. I'm...worried I won't be able to protect everyone this time."

Dr. Light paused in thought and closed his eyes, tucking his hands back into a gentle cross as he responded, _"Yes, the world is in truly dire straits. I never could have imagined that things would get this terrible..."_

"Dr. Light...Is there anything I can do?"

" _There are some things even I don't know the answer to X, but there is one thing I know for certain..."_ Dr. Light looked at his creation with a gaze swelling with pride, _"You will never give up, no matter how hard things become. Even more than your ability to think and feel like a human, that is by far your greatest trait."_

" _And as long as you don't lose hope, an answer will reveal itself to you eventually. Until then X, I can only implore you to continue fighting for a future where both sides can live in harmony..."_ Dr. Light then closed his eyes again and let out a pleasant sigh, _"Humans and Reploids...They are so far apart, and yet so close. And you, X, are the bridge that can connect the two."_

"Doctor..." X could feel his worries melt away with the melodic tone of his creator's speech, and soon he laid a hand on his chest and nodded his head, "You're right. No matter how tough things have gotten, I've always found a way to succeed. And it's because I have people like you helping me out. So thank you, for everything you've done Dr. Light."

" _I will always be here, X. But for now, take the data for the Falcon Armor that I have placed inside this capsule. Once you or your allies have found one more, you will be able to use it whenever you please."_

The hologram disappeared, allowing X to step inside the capsule. The sensation of all the data flowing through his body was something he had grown accustomed to by now, and thus it passed by like a brief spring breeze. Once he was off the capsule, he turned around and looked at Dr. Light one more time for now. The two exchanged a smile and nothing more, and X left the room to continue on with his mission. By now the embers had settled, leaving the area quiet.

" _Alright X. Now that that's over with, look down."_ Alia timed her guidance perfectly, as X was about to ask for her help. He glanced down with a bit of a smile on his face and saw a hatch in the floor. He grabbed onto the handle and saw that it was loose, as one gentle tug was enough to open it.

"Say Alia, where am I even going to find an energy pack once I head inside?"

" _No clue, I've never been to this place. Hopefully the workers haven't been infected."_

Slanting his brows, X drew his buster and leapt down into the deeper floors of the facility. The lighting down there was dimmer and gave the atmosphere a swamp-like feel to it, thanks in part to the murky green metal walls that littered it. After slipping past a couple of floors, X landed in a bent down position and heard some movement coming from the up ahead. Holding his buster before the chest, X took a couple steps forward, noticing the shadow of someone being projected on the ground beside a wall.

He began charging his buster, hoping the noise would lure whatever hostile may be hiding out of the way. In the blink of an eye, someone spun away from the wall and pointed a hand-size pistol at the Hunter. X looked over his head and saw that his target was a standard build construction Reploid with a protective helmet and visor and a yellow coat of paint. He was shaking, and was also hesitant to pull the trigger until he laid his eyes on X.

The Reploid's mouth went agape and he lowered his gun, holstering it to the hip with a magnet and saying, "H-Hey! I know you, you're X!"

"He's not infected..."X whispered in surprise as he lowered his weapon. One gaze into the Reploids' eyes was enough to confirm that to him before he asked, "What's going on here?"

"It's been a madhouse in here ever since word spread about the Sigma Virus outbreak. We had a group of Mavericks attack us out of the blue, and we were forced to fend them off and seal the roof," The Reploid blinked a couple times and then waved a finger at X, "...Say, how did you get in here anyways?"

"Are there still Mavericks inside the base?" X inquired sternly with a hand atop his buster.

"No idea. Our boss had us shut the doors to prevent anymore Mavericks from infiltrating the facility. But while we may not be Maverick Hunters..."The Reploid's chest swelled with pride as he gave it a couple pounds with his fist, "We're still the most hardened lot of workers you'll find this side of the sea!"

"I'll go and help your friends, but there's something I came here to get. Do you know where I can find an energy cart?"

"An energy cart? Yeah! The boss would know where they are!"

"Who is your boss anyways?"

"You don't know who he is?"The Reploid said with genuine surprise, "I heard he's a former Maverick Hunter. Does the name Squid Adler ring a bell?"

"Squid Adler?" X repeated the name to see if he'd recognize it. Widening his eyes, the Hunter snapped his

fingers and exclaimed, "That's right! He was in the 6th Marine Unit a few years ago. So he decided to work here after retiring, huh?

" _I didn't know that. He must really keep his work a secret."_

"Yeah, our boss never wants to take credit for the stuff he's developed for our facility. You know those energy orbs that provide fuel to a Reploids' Sub Tank? He created them!"

" _Really? I'll have to have a discussion with him later..."_

"Right. So would Squid Adler be at the bottom of the facility?" X inquired.

"Yeah. But to get through the doors you're going to have to blast the plugs as hard as you can. This measly peashooter of mine can't cut it." The Reploid wiggled his gun out and had a humored smile on his face. X promptly ignored that and went on ahead, noticing a plug dangling from the ceiling via a rope made of solid electricity. Aiming his buster upward, X charged and fired a shot into the bottom of the durable plug. The plug pushed itself into place, and the thick yellow steel door in his way opened up.

Glancing back, X swung his left hand down a couple times and insisted, "Wait here, I'll bring your friends and boss back safe and sound."

X then went deeper into the facility, checking every square inch of the rooms he entered to make sure he didn't miss a single Reploid. There were plenty of doors to reactivate, each more difficult than the last, but the opposition from Mavericks was minimal at worst. The workers had taken care of most of them, and the ones that weren't capable of doing so hung back and tended to their wounds while X finished them. Seeing the workers fighting as hard as they could renewed some of the hope that X had previously lost.

It took about ten minutes, but X was assured by one of the Reploids he saved that he was about to reach the core of the facility. He hadn't ran into any signs of Squid Adler yet, meaning that he was certain to find him at the end. Passing through the final door on the way down, X found himself dropping into a small pit and landing on top of a thick piece of metal that crunched down from his weight.

He stepped away and glanced back, noticing that he had landed upon half of a broken Reploid. Sparks flew through the Reploid's body, and judging from their frequency they had to have been killed recently. The lights in the room flickered on and off a few times before the chamber was seeped in total darkness. X's body lit up and he pointed his cannon at the air, where a figure began to descend towards him, illuminated by a veil of blue sparks.

The Reploid had a head shaped like the body of a squid, their primary colors being white and a pale aquamarine. Their arms and legs were shaped much like X's were, but with thicker and hydrodynamic plating around them. Sprawled out from their back were four metallic tentacles each with their own conduit spike. With a stern glare downward, the Reploid was about to lunge their tentacles at X until their respective glows made it clear who he was.

"...X?"The Reploid spoke with a calm, elegant voice without any discernible gender to their tone. Retracting their tentacles, the Reploid lowered themselves to the ground as the chamber lit back up, revealing a series of Maverick bodies sprawled along the floor. X lowered his buster and took up a more casual demeanor with his old comrade.

"It is you Squid Adler. I never thought I'd find you here."

"That is how you greet me after so long?"Squid Adler brushed a hand around as though painting a canvas, their voice as gentle as the morning tide, "No 'Nice to meet you again', or 'I'm sorry'...not even a 'Hello'. How rude."

"I'm sorry. We never spoke much because we were in different units."

"...Ah yes, the 6th Marine Unit. How quickly time flies...It feels like just yesterday I fought alongside Octopardo to liberate the seas from Maverick insurgents." Squid Adler's voice carried a lofty nostalgia to it.

"Octopardo?" It took a moment for X to register the name, upon which his tone took on a more apologetic sound, "Oh, you're talking about Launch Octopus."

"He died at your hands when Sigma began his rebellion. Or have you forgotten him amongst the countless hundreds you have destroyed?"

"...I'll never forget the lives I have taken, even if they were my enemies." X responded with the utmost seriousness.

"Yes...He betrayed the Hunters so he could be recognized for his gracefulness in combat. He always was a lovable but foolish fool, that Octopardo." Squid Adler's tone did not change in the slightest even as they appeared to hold scorn towards X.

"Do you hate me, Squid Adler?"

"You did your job. I cannot hate you for that. But just as you made your decision, so too did I when I left the Maverick Hunters behind for good."

"Well, it does seem like you're happy here. I'm sure Octopardo would be happy for you too...If he was still alive." X weighed his condolensces gently, and Squid Adler went silent for a few seconds after.

"So, why are you here, X? Certainly not to clean up this vulgar mess, I'd presume." Squid Adler then brushed their arms towards the bodies on the ground.

"No. I need an energy cartridge for the laser cannon we're building to stop Eurasia from colliding with the planet."

Squid Adler froze up for a moment, their body trembling as their eyes widened in place. X noticed this and began to get overcome by an unease sensation in his body. The maritime Reploid then began to laugh quietly and fixate on X with a stern glare.

"You are free to take such a worthless thing...But what is the point really? Life is fleeting, and the Earth's fate cannot be changed. Every Reploid is doomed to be infected or destroyed and become Mav Mav Mav MAV..." Squid Adler's body twitched, their tentacles sprawling out wildly as electricity surged through them and fried the lights in the room completely.

X gasped, the unease turning into pained panic as he looked at the corpses on the ground and realized what was happening, "Squid Adler's being infected by the virus leaking from the bodies!"

"X... X! Terminate...I will terminate you like you did Octopardo!" Squid Adler's calm shattered, giving way to a vicious howl of vengeance as X swung his buster up and exclaimed in a rage directed towards a person who wasn't even there, "NO!"

Squid Adler lashed two of their electrified tentacles out with a wild control over them, making it difficult for X to peg where they'd strike at. He took a risk and chose to leap back onto the wall, but when the tentacles struck it the electricity shot up into X's body and filled him with at least a million volts worth of it.

After a quick and pained grunt X dropped back to the floor between his opponent's tentacles, which he kept stuck to the wall so he could drag himself in closer. He threw an electrified punch into the side of X's face, digging the knuckles of the other fist into the opposite side right after. X widened his into a fierce glare aimed at Squid Adler's face and threw his already smoking buster up, firing a charged shot into his chest to repel him.

The Reploid ripped his tentacles free and punctured the sides of the charged shot that was dragging them back, ripping straight through it. X then prodded them with a few bit-sized projectiles while advancing ahead, anticipating Squid Adler crossing his tentacles to guard before he leapt into the air and threw his left fist back. With one sudden descent, X punched the Reploid across the face hard enough to get them to retreat with stumbling feet.

Squid Adler hardened their body and planted their bottom tentacles into the ground to electrify the floor, paralyzing X in place for a few seconds. The Reploid then lunged one of their upper tentacles straight forward and attempted to jab X in the chest. The Hunter fought through the pain of a million volts flowing through him to wreath both his hands around the tentacle, tightening his grasp and tugging to try and throw them back.

Squid Adler dug his tentacles into the ground and increased the voltage, intensifying the sparks that flew from X's body. The Hunter grit his teeth and reared his entire body back, and his opponent's tentacles began to give in to X's raw strength. Ripped straight from the ground, Squid Adler was thrown up and slammed into the wall above the door.

X let go and aimed his buster upward, firing a charged shot as big as his body towards his opponent. Squid Adler peeled themselves off the wall and thrust all four tentacles into the charged shot right in the nick of time. As gravity pulled them towards the ground, their tentacles bent and curved from the pressure of the projectile, forcing them to take immediate action to avoid destruction.

Overcharging the tentacles to the point their own body was began to get electrified, Squid Adler launched a swift but powerful bolt of lightning that pierced the charged shot and smashed straight into X's entire body. The Hunter was thrown back against the wall in recoil, falling to his knees as his body shook with an occasional spasm. Smoke rose from his body as he stood up, wobbling to-and-fro to regain his balance. He pointed his buster up, his vision reconstructing itself from the pixelated view set before him, while Squid Adler descended to the ground and prepared to bring his tentacles to the ground once more.

X had little time to think. His body acted under the guidance of his instincts and swiftly worked up a plan of attack by taking everything he could do into consideration. Then, after analyzing the couple of powers X had at his disposal, the Hunter's body turned a mix of dark-blue and orange as he fired a small wave of icy gel at the ground. The wave slid forward, unnoticed by the focused gaze of the vengeance seeking Reploid, and struck one of their tentacles the moment he tried to bring it to the ground.

The tentacle froze over instantly, trapped in a thicket of ice tougher than diamond. Squid Adler turned their head and jerked their tentacle up, but was unable to even crack the ice. Without a second's thought, the Reploid tried to plant their over tentacle into the ground, but X froze it over just the same as the first.

The Reploid grunted, jerking their body left and right with a clear expression of pain on their face. X changed back to his regular colors and locked his buster on the center of Squid Adler's chest. His buster shook, with eyes focused on the struggles of the former comrade before him.

"...Forgive me...SQUID ADLER!" X concentrated the energy in his buster into a condensed form, firing it without another moment's hesitation. A thin beam shot through the air like a bullet and punctured through Squid Adler's chest, breaking the core that kept him functioning.

The Reploid froze up, their eyes rolling back until they were as white as his body. First the left leg gave in, then the right, leaving Squid Adler's body to collapse upon the ground with their tentacles sprawled limp around them. With what little energy they had left, they parted with solemn serenity in their voice, "Octopardo...I will see you again soon..."

X lowered his buster and turned it back into a hand, having to clench it with the other to get it to stop shaking. No matter how many Mavericks he took down, whether friend or foe, the job would never get any easier. But there was something different about the demise of Squid Adler that pained X to the core. More than even Repliforce were, Squid Adler was innocent. They lived a full, almost happy life, and escaped the war when many others continued to be swept up in it.

And what was their reward for their hard work and duties? To be infected and slaughtered like he was little more than a dirty, rotten Maverick. X grasped his wrist and dug his fingertips in deep, almost puncturing the metallic skin of his arm. Gritting his teeth to the point his head shook, X squinted his eyes shut and growled out in out revilement, "Sig...MA!"

After hatred clouded his thoughts for a good ten seconds, X looked down at Squid Adler's body and stared it for a little longer. Then he bent down, picking his body off the ground and laying it over his shoulders. Squid Adler's powers had been absorbed, but that was not X's intention in carrying him. At a sluggish pace, X took his body out of the room and climbed the facility until he was back with the group of workers he had rescued.

The first one he met stood at the front of the crowd and greeted X, giving him a handwave that soon sunk back down to his hip once he saw the lifeless body of his boss. X couldn't bring himself to look the dozen or so workers in the eyes. He just bent down, gently rested Squid Adler's body on the ground, and told them all the truth.

"By the time I got to him, he was already infected...I'm sorry."

The workers looked down at their fallen boss for a few seconds and then took off their helmets, laying them against their chests as they bowed their heads in respect. No one said anything for an entire minute, and not even the building made a single sound. The silence was then broken by the worker X had first met, who approached X with an energy cart in his right hand.

"Here...We found one buried in one of the storage rooms. I know the boss would've wanted you to have it..." His voice was weary, even as he tried to keep his spirits high. As X reached out to take it, the worker had but one request, "All we ask is that when you find Sigma, you give him hell for us, got it?"

X held the cart at his hip and nodded, stating with the utmost certainty towards himself, "Sigma's gone far enough. I WILL destroy him for good this time. You have my word as a Maverick Hunter."

He then raised a hand to the side of his head and said, "I got what we need Alia."

" _...Alright. I'll bring you back to base."_ Alia sounded saddened as she typed away at the keyboard, inputting the coordinates necessary to teleport X back to the HQ...

 _Next Time: Last Legs_


	6. Chapter 5

**'Chapter 5: Bright and Brilliant, Izzy Glow**

X returned to the HQ with a heart heavier than the rest of his body, the commotion his comrades made falling on deaf ears as he made his way to the command center. When he entered the room, Alia was there to greet him right in front of the door. X lifted his head up just a bit and noticed a solemn look in her eyes. With a miniscule frown, she grabbed underneath the elbow of her left arm and said, "I'm sorry about what happened to Squid Adler...It may come as a surprise to you X, but I know what it's like to put down someone who didn't deserve it."

"Huh?" X widened his eyes with a bit of shock, but before he could push for answers Alia closed her eyes and swiftly forced through her mouth, "But...that'll be a story for another day."

X paused in place and looked her in the face, resonating with her sympathetic remark enough to find a reason to lift his lips into something resembling a smile, "It's fine Alia. All we can do now is make sure Squid Adler's death is not in vain."

He then handed the energy cart over to Alia, resting it gently atop her open palm. She clutched it between her fingers and laid it beside her hip for now, nodding her head and admitting to her partner, "You're right. And not just Squid Adler...but all the Reploids that Sigma has infected must be avenged."

Afterwards, X took a moment to scan the room in it's entirety, asking with the gentle curiosity and concern of a child, "Where's Zero? Is he not back from his examination yet?"

"No. And I haven't heard a word from the science division," Alia's response was swift but not in any way detached from concern, as he said not a moment after, "But that probably means there's nothing wrong with Zero either."

"Maybe I should go check up on him. There's just one part left to complete the Enigma, right?"

"Yes," Alia memorized the information she had found and repeated it perfectly, "All that's left is a Laser Device from a secluded Reploid scientist by the name of Izzy Glow."

"I'll leave that up to Shina and Alex. Once I've checked on Zero, I'll be right back."

"Hey, don't let me stop you. He should be in one of the examination rooms." Alia prompted X to go off in a haste, and after a thankful nod he turned around and sprinted out the door. Alia then turned around and saw Shina and Alex already a couple feet in front of her, giving her a brief shock.

"Did you two overhear that?" She pondered, to which Shina smiled bright and gave a swift and firm nod of the head, slamming her chin against the top of her chest and throwing all her hair forward at the same time.

Once she pulled her head back, Shina's chest puffed out with her general eagerness as she proclaimed, "Now it's my turn to take the stage!"

" _Remember_ what we're here for, Shina." Alex shot down her enthusiasm with a blunt retort and sharp glare from the side of his face.

"Will ya stop bugging me about that? I know what we hafta do." Shina replied with a roll of the eyes and a somewhat frustrated slump of the shoulders as she turned to look Alex in the eyes.

"You better. I'll be watching from Alia's monitor the entire time, so if I see you get distracted even ONCE-"

"You'll spit hot air like ya always do?" Shina stood her ground and called Alex out, but from the way she grinned and chuckled after it came across more as poking fun at his general behavior than being outright malicious. Though the tone didn't matter, as Alex crumpled his face into a wrinkled frown and jerked his head away with arms crossed loosely against the chest.

Alia stared at the two with a blank look in the eyes and a couple blinks, in her mind comparing the two to the definition of an "odd couple" she had happened to read once upon a time. Without even thinking, her lips began to curl up into a tight smirk, locking a guffaw behind iron bars. She then turned her body towards her desk and stared at the two for a little while longer as she said, "I'll set the coordinates for Izzy Glow's lab. Head out whenever you're ready."

After she had sat herself down at the desk, Shina gave Alex one more glance and winked her left eyelid playfully before telling him, "Well, wish me luck!"

She turned around but was anchored in place by Alex's vice-like grip on her shoulder, causing her body to be pulled back and her eyes to pop open as she stumbled back around and heard him whisper, "Hold on a second Shina."

She turned around and fluttered her eyelashes a few times, waiting for Alex to finish scanning the room to make sure no other people were in sight. He then leaned a little closer to Shina's face and whispered, "Something's been bothering me since X got back."

"What's up?"

"Didn't you hear what he said to Dr. Light's hologram?" Alex pulled back a bit and started scratching the side of his head with a clear uncertainty to his tone, "I just want to be sure...But did Dr. Light commit suicide in the games?"

"No, I don't think they ever said what happened to him." Shina then began to tilt her head and think about what Alex said with great interest.

"It's not just that. There's been other differences I've noticed as well. X and Sigma are behaving differently enough, and I haven't seen hide or hair of Douglas."

"Well...is Douglas _really_ that important?" Shina pointed out, and Alex waved his arms out before responding firmly, "It's funny how the first time he is, its when he doesn't even exist."

"This does smell fishy, now that ya mention it tho..." Shina nodded in agreement, then with a brief widening of her eyes she had a brilliant revelation, "Oh hey! Wasn't there a remake of the games on the PSP?"

"Just the one game..." Alex murmured, but then tilted his head to the left and pondered about that for a moment, "Wait, I see what you're getting at."

He swung a hand upside-down out at Shina before suggesting, "You're saying this world's timeline is following the events of the remake, not the originals."

"Yeah!" Shina said with abundant excitement.

Alex turned away for a moment and crossed his arms, his expression turning both perplexed and perturbed as Shina looked on, "...On one hand, X and Zero are still having to deal with Eurasia, so I want to say everything else has played out like before. But then the question remains as to how differently all those events played out..."

"Hrrgg..." Alex growled with a bitter of frustration present. For the first time ever, he had wound up on a world where the events were almost completely different than what he was familiar with, and there was no way to ask the people of the world what those differences were without exposing a most horrific truth.

" _And that's the last thing any of them need..."_ Alex tucked his hands into his pockets and let out a deep sigh, then tilted his head back to look at Shina.

"Just keep an eye out for the Sigma Virus. It's not like the common flu...If we get infected, the only cure'll be death." With a grim reminder, Alex looked back ahead and failed to register the brief flash of concern on Shina's face, nor the bulge in her throat as she gulped down a hefty wad of 'saliva'.

"Aw, it'll be alright! I didn't come this far just to lose out to a nasty cold! Just watch, I'll be the one to find the final artifact piece!"' Speaking up with her usual perky voice, Shina turned around and made her way to the door, her parting words causing Alex to go deep in thought.

" _Still no signs of the artifact piece..."_ Alex lifted his head towards the ceiling, with his body tensing up as though he was being watched, _"This divergent timeline, the two of us being turned into Reploids...Just what are you planning now, you smug son of a bitch?"_

Shina made her way to the teleporter and hopped on top of it. Before Alia sent her off, she reached for her Gunslinger Drive and slanted her brows with a confident smile, proclaiming with a rowdy and go-to attitude, "Alright! Beginning the mission!

Her hand touched down on the stone the moment she was sent off, and thus when she arrived at her destination she had already donned her looser leather outfit and pair of aura pistols for battle. Her body wobbled a bit at first, with her head leaning forward and her body getting dragged a couple feet forward until she regained control.

"Whoa whoa whoa! I'm reaaaaally not used to traveling like that!" She shook the fuzziness from her mind and smiled bright, taking a moment to observe the change of scenery around her. She had arrived at the entrance of an ancient stone castle in the middle of a mountain plateau. The sun was shining bright above, casting rays of warmth upon the lands. The winds were a little humid, and because of that Shina pieced together that she was on a remote island of sorts. Looking at the castle in greater detail afterwards, Shina noticed that any deformities in it's structure was cleaned up by replacing them with advanced machinery.

"This looks like it'd be a nice vacation spot." She commented with earnest.

" _Not unless you like dealing with traps."_ Alia's voice entered Shina's eardrums and causes her ears to perk up for a moment before she gave the navigator a chipper response, "hey Alia! Glad to have ya onboard as my navigator!"

Then after a second's thought, Shina puckered her lips and remarked, "Wait a tic, whaddya mean by traps?"

" _Dr. Glow's very secretive when it comes to his work. He's a well-known paranoid amongst the scientist of the worlds, and he spent most of his money to buy this island so he could work in solitude. And I heard he's riddled his castle with traps to ward off intruders."_

"Oh I see, he must've been worried about his technology being exploited." Shina could pick up on the problem right away, even without having to draw on her knowledge of the world.

" _But we need his Laser Drive, so you'll need to be diplomatic and convince him to help us."_ Right as Alia was done, a rough, faint and hagged cough forced itself into Shina's eardrums, causing her eyes to slump into an unenthused crease.

She kept that expression up for a few seconds as the coughing petered out, then perked her lips up into a smile and proclaimed with confidence, "You bet yer bottom I'll be able to convince him. Ya may not know it Alia, but making friends is my specialty!"

" _Well...I'm not going to argue that."_ Alex's voice chimed in, ripe with subtle mockery. Then, a hard shove could be heard over the communicator before Alia spoke up again with a tiny bit of frustration at the beginning, _"Aaaaanyways...I'll try and alert you of any traps along the way, but stay focused. Dr. Glow's a lousy fighter, but he's a brilliant scienitst."_

"Hehehe! Don't worry! 'Focused' is my middle name!" The moment Shina said that, another cough worse sounding than the last came through the communicator, returning Shina's expression to the same unenthused slump as before.

"Alex, you might wanna get a cough drop. Your throat's sounding pretty chewed up." Shina responded with chipper wit and zero tolerance for his nonsense.

She then somersaulted through the air to climb the initial set of stairs, coming across a raised up bridge with the appearance of a motherboard. Transforming one gun into a slingshot mine launcher, she shot one mine onto the bottom of the bridge and then shot a bullet with her spare pistol to blow it up. The bridge went down but only spanned half the game. However, before it was even down all the way, Shina flipped over the gap and hit the ground running into the castle.

The entrance was protected by knee-high helmeted robots called Mettaurs, who turned their attention towards Shina and whipped out their pickaxes with surprising ease and vigor. Shina paused for a moment and her cheeks lit up with a blush, and she was unable to contain her delight as she proclaimed, "Awwwww, they're so cute!"

The Mettaurs' stabbed the tip of their picks into the ground and a wave of energy rushed forth towards Shina. She widened her eyes and let out a quick 'Whoa!' before gliding to the left to dodge one wave, then 'skating' to the right to avoid another. She spun her left leg up, the tip of another wave grazing the bottom of it as she brought it down and went on ahead. For now, the floor was like a skating rink, and the Mettaurs and their projectiles the cones she had to avoid.

But this skater was packing heat, and her pair of pistols sufficed at dealing with the gathered enemies one shot at a time. Once she passed by the exploding Mettaurs she leapt towards the wall and kicked off it, climbing over a pillar and sprinting the moment she landed on the ground. However, just a bit further ahead her eyes drifted towards the left and locked onto a sight of the castle's outdoors. Enclosed around the perimeter of the stony walls was a simple little garden with actual foliage and trees.

"Huh, that must be where the doc goes to relax." Distracted, Shina only had her attention snap back to reality when the rattling of metal entered her ears. She lifted her head up and saw a spiked chandelier dropping down, the tips of the spikes six inches from her gasping face before she threw her body to the left and rolled out of the way.

She stood herself on a knee and propped up leg, her heart racing against her chest while Alia chimed in, _"That was a close one! You have to be more careful!"_

Shina stood up all the way and saw as the chandelier retracted towards the ceiling. Connecting her pistols together and transforming the gun into a two-foot long laser rifle, she aimed at the midpoint of the chain and remarked with a thick western accent, "This ain't my first rodeo pardner!"

She fired a thin, super hot bullet to melt through the chain and render the chandelier inert. She then leapt over it and kept running, evading a few more falling chandeliers without even looking. Once past them she looked up and saw another one lying in wait past a couple of floors worth of ledges. With a lean back until her entire body was in a one-hundred thirty degree curve, she aimed the rifle she had upward and thickened it until it was a rocket launcher.

"Take aim aaaaaand..." Shina locked onto the chandelier high above, but then a drone with a shield it could place above and in front of it's body sluggishly flew in the way and decided to stand there. Shina squinted her eyes and swung her left arm out a couple times, exclaiming with annoyance, "Shoo! Shoo!"

The drone, shockingly, didn't listen.

"...Oh forget it." Shina dully put her arm back onto the trigger of the rocket launcher and thinned the barrel to create an armor-piercing rocket. Then she pulled the trigger without hesitation, puncturing the drone and blowing up the chandelier in a second. Shina flipped up and kicked the drone aside before it could explode, landing on the ledge to the left and scaling up the nearby ladder as the chandelier went down in flames.

" _...Huh, guess you're not a rookie after all."_ Alia remarked as Shina crossed a bed of spikes by firing off her rocket boots.

"Wha? Why d'ya think that?" Shina replied while disconnecting some more chandeliers with a pair of sharp disc launchers.

" _N-Never mind that. You still have to be wary of traps. Even X has trouble with them sometimes."_

"But he always gets through cause of you, ya?" Shina remarked, "S'long as you're helping me out, I'm not going to be flattened like a pancake anytime soon!"

By the time she had finished talking, Shina had made it through the hallway of falling chandeliers and was on her way to the staircase beyond. She stuck to the base of the winding crimson stairway and looked up through the central chasm. There was a massive glass green tube going from the bottom to the very top, and at least fifteen floors worth of stairs composing the sleek spiral.

"Aw MAN. My legs are gonna be sore climbing all those stairs!" Shina said with great dismay as she slumped back and threw her shoulders up.

" _Fzzztttting FLY!"_ Alex yelled out, once again earning a shove to the face by Alia on the other side as she wrenched control of the mic back from him.

"Oh yeah! I can fly!" Shina whipped a pistol against her head and stuck her tongue out, letting out a light "Duh!" before she kicked off the ground and evaded all the tedium of climbing outright.

" _...If you don't mind me asking Shina, you seem pretty distracted all the time. Are you ok?"_ Alia hesitated to voice her concerns, but Shina didn't mind and answered promptly.

"I'm sorry...It's just that, ya know, Alex and I are on the last leg of our journey. Once we grab the stone here, it's just a hop, skip and a jump to the Cosmos Drive. And after that we're going right back home to stop Gravitus..." The gravity of what that meant hit Shina hard at that moment, and she whispered with her eyes sagging in realization, "Wow, I'll be seeing my 'lil sis again after almost two years..."

She landed at the top of the stairs with a blank look in her eyes. She had many thoughts and feelings to sort through regarding her return home, but Alia's voice soon snapped her out of it by murmuring, _"Well, I hope everything works out for you Shina."_

"...Huh? Oh, oh!" Shina blushed a bit and gave her head a quick shake, "Sorry I blanked out. Guess ya don't care too much, huh?"

" _Reploids aren't created with an understanding of what a 'family' is. Guess our creators never saw a need..."_

"Well the way I see it, you're already a part of one, Alia."

" _I am?"_ She replied with subdued bewilderment.

"Yeah! X's the idealistic son, Zero's the calm and cool older brother, Signas is the headstrong father, and you're the firm but kind mother!" Shina grouped the four up in such a way that you'd think they were part of an everyday sitcom. Needless to say, Alia didn't quite know how to take all that in.

" _I-I see..."_

"Mmm-hmm! Well, enough dilly-dallying, time to find Dr. Glow!" Shina hopped into the nearby teleporter and was sent off to another part of the castle. She was higher up than before, now in a location where looking out the windows would allow her to see the mountains and sky and nothing else. The ramp up ahead meant that the castle could go even higher, which was surprising considering it already dwarved entire mountains.

" _From the blueprints I've found, this is the last stretch to the doctor's room. There's only one problem though..."_

"Oh?"

" _The cannons here are armed with plasma energy. Can your weapons output any of that?"_

"Nope! Just pure raw aura!"

" _Aura? Never heard of that type of energy before."_

"It's the essence of life and your very self. It surrounds everyone and everything. Right now, in my case, I can use it to whip up all sorts of guns for combat!"

" _I see, so it's like you're using molecular deconstruction and reconstruction at will."_ Alia offered up a scientific comparison for the mystical power she was witnessing.

"Something like that?" Shina tilted her head back and forth, "Or ya can think of it as me taking a ball of clay and molding it with my mind."

" _When this whole thing's taken care of, you'll have to tell me more about this. I'm pretty interested to know more."_

"If I've got the time, sure!" Shina didn't hesitate in her enthusiasm, and then ran on ahead to deal with the remainder of the castle's defenses. The first cannon was at the top of the slope, attached to the wall with a big red lens aimed downward.

Shina kept her distance and waited for the cannon to fire, where it released a slow-moving orange-yellow orb that blinked rapidly as it rolled down the hill after it's target.

"Shouldn't waste aura on those..." She murmured before hopping over the orb and kicking herself up to the next floor the moment she landed. Another cannon was staring her in the face ready to fire, and after an unnecessary gasp she placed a couple gun boots around her feet and propelled herself back to get out of the way. Twirling around, she broke into a sprint and then leapt over a shot from another cannon, kicking off the wall to get to the next floor.

A glance back got her to notice another cannon, but instead of evading it she placed a wall between the edge of the floor and the ceiling to keep the projectiles from coming after. She then turned around and looked up, noticing a passage to a secluded area. With a sly smile on her face she turned her pistols into a rocket launcher and then dashed underneath the passage, spinning around and leaping so her back would slam against the wall, putting her in prime position to launch the rocket upward.

She blew up a cannon that was just out of sight, opening up a secluded room. She then changed the rocket launcher back to two pistols and flew up to the room, where a Dr. Light capsule just so happened to be. Before she got close enough for it to activate, Alia contacted her quickly.

" _...How did you know that was there?"_ Once more, the enigma that was Shina Aurora left even a genius like Alia flustered.

"O-Oh ummm..." Shina knew she'd been caught red-handed, and could even imagine Alex slashing a thumb across his throat as a subtle way to tell her to be quiet. However, she actually managed to come up with an answer to Alia's question that would suffice.

"T-The aura lets me see things that most can't?" Even with the slightest lack of confidence in her answer, Shina would breath a sigh of relief when Alia didn't say anything else after. She then took a couple steps forward and caused the capsule to activate. When the hologram of Dr. Light appeared, Shina ended up getting the first word in.

"Ah, is this the part where you tell me to go to Dagobah to train under Master Yoda?"

Dr. Light popped his eyes open and gave a courteous if not puzzled response, _"I-I beg your pardon?"_

"Oh, guess you'd never've seen that movie..." Shina puckered her lips inward from disappointment then let out a firm smack. Then, she tucked her guns away and crossed her arms before the waist to bow.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Light! My name's Shina, Shina Aurora!" Once she pulled back up she smiled and said, "And I'm one of X's buddies!"

" _Hahaha. What a polite young lady you are,"_ Dr. Light smiled from cheek to cheek, _"You must be with that one boy I saw earlier."_

"Alex? Yeah, we're travel companions!"

" _Well, thank you for helping X out. In times like these, he can use all the friends he can get."_

"Sure thing doc. I'm always glad to help. Speaking of which, I think X's looking forward to that Falcon Armor you've prepared for him!"

" _Is he now?"_ Dr. Light chuckled, _"Then step into this capsule, and the data for the last part shall be sent to his HQ."_

"Will do!" Shina hopped into the capsule before the hologram even vanished, taking in the load of data that flushed out from the top into her body. The sensation was brisk and warm, something she could compare to a steamy shower in fact, and when she hopped out of the capsule she was feeling refreshed.

"Ahhh, that was nice!" She then spun around and greeted Dr. Light's hologram with a close-eyed smile, "Thanks a lot doc!"

" _Hmmm..."_ Dr. Light was rubbing his chin in thought for a moment, thus there was a slight delay in his response, _"Ah, yes...You're quite welcome. But really, I should be the one thanking you. Now, I won't delay you any further. Good luck out there, Shina."_

The capsule sealed itself tight and Shina went back to the predetermined route with renewed vigor. Sprinting through without stopping, she evaded the remaining cannons until she ascended to a short but highly protected shaft. Bending down until her knees touched the ground, Shina sprung up and launched herself past all the cannons to make it to the final door of the castle in record time. Walking down a hall, Shina dispelled her guns and laid a hand on the side of her head.

"So Alia, got any suggestions on what to say?"

" _I shouldn't give you any advive. Last time I saw the doctor...Lets just say things didn't end on a bright note."_

"Oh I get it! Cause his last name is Gl-"

" _Shina, whatever you do...DON'T do that in front of him."_ Alex warned, for once not earning Alia's disdain.

"I'll be fine Alex. I've never told ya, but I used to be the leader of the debate team back home!"

" _...You make it too easy sometimes, you know that?"_

Shina shook her head in a lofty manner and brushed her hands up beside her face as she walked through the door. Inside she found herself overlooking an electric generator core protected by four sleek silver conductors and a cylindrical cage of hard light. Cupping her hands around the mouth, Shina yelled out, "Helloooooo? Is anyone home?!"

Right on cue the lights began to dim until the room was filled with a pure ebony dark. The dark was enlightened by a flurry of greenish sparkles spread across the air like pollen, and in the center of it a Reploid appeared all of a sudden. The Reploid was four feet tall and shaped like a firefly, with a sleek red body with metallic coverings for his fast fluttering solid light wings and a green-light bottom. His head was adorned with two curved back antennae and a pair of pilot goggles, along with a white slanted upside-down "U" mustache.

The light returned to the room and the Reploid furrowed his brows with a rugged twitch, glaring down at the person that had entered his room with obvious scorn.

"And just who in the name of Theodore H. Maiman are you supposed to be?" With a frazzled, high-pitched elderly tone, the Reploid's eyes bulged out past the rims of his glasses and he didn't even let Shina open her mouth before interrupting, "No wait, scratch that! How in blue blazes did you get past my defenses?!"

"I blew them up!" Shina's response was swift but honest, yet it only ended up causing the Reploid to throw his stubby arms into the air and turn away.

"Worthless! That's the last time I'm using Doppler's designs for anything!" The Reploid rattled his head and then jerked back around, flying point-blank to Shina's face and rubbing noses with her even after she reared back with her heart beating fast.

"Alright you. So who hired you to try and steal my technology?! Was it that dimwitted Gate? Maybe that upstart Isoc! Well I ain't parting with any of it, even if my thermodynamic generator drops to absolute ZERO!" In a huff he turned away, purposefully smacking Shina in the face with the burning tip of his rear. Rubbing the red imprinted on her left cheek with a tight lipped pucker, Shina watched as the Reploid flew to the back end of the room and grumbled to himself.

"Mr. Glow sir. We need your Laser Drive technology to complete the Enigma. If we don't, the whole planet's gonna go 'Kaboom!'" Shina cupped her hands into the shape of the planet and then threw them out for emphasis.

Izzy Glow threw his left hand up and said, "Bah! Mere propaganda crafted by the Maverick Hunters to rile up the populace! If you think I'm going to yield to that, then you must take me for an idiot!"

Shina clasped her hands together and made her eyes sparkle, pleading with an earnest smile, "Pleeeeeeeease? I promise the Maverick Hunters won't misuse your technology!"

"Empty promises coming from an empty-headed girl!" Izzy Glow turned himself around and thrust his hand down as he mocked Shina without mercy. He then raised a hand to his chin as the girl's enthusiasm deflated before him, giving it a tender rub.

"Even IF that Eurasia crash nonsense was real, I doubt that crusty old laser would be able to destroy an entire space colony. Maybe, MAYBE it'd damage a third of the colony AT BEST!"

"But if we damage it that much, then we can just throw a shuttle at it to finish it off!" Shina stated with great confidence.

"...I don't know if you're stupid or stubborn girl, but you don't seem to know when to take a hint. My technology will never, EVER be used for weapons, and I don't care if the whole planet lights up like a stick of dynamite because of this!"

"C'mon Mr...Think about it, if ya help us stop Eurasia, then your technology will be recognized the world over! You'll be a hero!" Shina continued to make her case without losing her spunk or getting upset, yet a brainiac like Izzy Glow had a library of responses to draw upon at his leisure.

"Ha! Like I haven't heard THAT one before!" The Reploid leaned his body forward and raised both brows up in annoyance, "In fact, now that I think about it, another girl looking a lot like you came around and tried to barter for my technology with the same spiel. Except **she** was much shorter and had violet hair."

"Huh?" The description did ring a bit of a bell to Shina. She thought that she had heard about that type of person in an Aurian history book before. But when her memory failed to recognize the person right away she made haste to try and get Izzy Glow to listen once more.

"Please sir, I don't want to take your technology by force."

"Bah, well you won't have to worry about that for long!" Izzy Glow threw his left arm out and revealed his wings, a pair of green hard light projections shaped like acute triangles.

"For I shall expel you from my castle...BY FORCE!" He thrust his tail forward and it glowed bright enough to flush the room in a green shade. Shina widened her eyes and drew her pistols up, spinning them around her pointer fingers before clasping them tight.

"Looks like diplomacy's failed!" Shina said out of haste and something resembling embarrassment before firing a few bullets into the Reploid's body. Izzy Glow jerked his head back and swung his arm out like swatting away flies.

"Ghhh! You pesky poacher! I'll fry you to a crisp!" Izzy Glow unleashed the energies within his tail in the form of a seering green beam. Shina threw her body to the right in a bounding leap, watching as the beam collided with the wall behind her and blew the whole thing up. Her mouth then went agape until both feet touched the ground, where she quickly spun to the right and cocked both pistols at her enemy's direction.

But he had vanished without a trace, forcing Shina to put on her scouter to try and find where he had gone. A signal went off indicating a presence from behind, and with a sharp pull of her body Shina dodged to the left as Izzy Glow came flying at her with tail thrust out. From dodging, Shina had enough momentum to spin around and stabilize herself upright, where she turned the pistols into SMGs and assaulted Izzy Glow with a rapid-fire spray of bullets.

The Reploid weathered the onslaught and ruffled his stiffened mustache, followed by flicking his left and right hands out to send forth projectiles shaped like tiny fireflies, each one leaving a dotted trail of light in it's wake. Shina crossed her arms and created half a dome of aura around her arms for protection. Both fireflies blew up and cracked the aura enough that one charge from the scientist was enough to shatter it and send her stumbling back a couple steps.

Then, Izzy Glow looped backwards and dove forward towards Shina's while she was dazed, his eyes crossed in a glare. A foot away from connecting, the Reploid would find himself taken aback when Shina smiled and thrust both her hands up, merging the pistols into a wide barreled shotgun. With turn of the head, Shina let Izzy Glow see her wink before pulling the trigger, blowing her opponent away with a cone shaped burst of aura.

Bits of the Reploid's face were chipped off and his vision blurred, his ears ringing as though he had gotten up close to a church bell. Shina rocketed towards him with a kick from her self-made gun boots and rammed the left boot into his chest, firing off another shotgun blast that blew the Reploid straight into the wall. From the recoil, Shina spun around and skid her foot along the ground upon landing, turning the shotgun into a pair of shuriken launchers and aiming them forward.

Without focusing on her target, she clicked away at the triggers so fast that her fingers were a blur, firing enough shurikens to cover the entire wall and pin the shell of Izzy Glow's wings to it. The Reploid persisted out of pure stubbornness and spite and pulled his body forward, ripping free from the shurikens that bound him with only a few minor scars to his frame to show for it. He then thrust his tail forward and fired off another laser, this time anticipating Shina's roll to the left and flying down that direction to try and hit her.

Shina threw her left arm up and summoned a shield of aura that attached to the ground, but the heat of the beam managed to burn through the aura and heat up the skin of her arm. Popping her eyes wide open Shina spouted out "Hot hot HOT!" while swinging her right gun upward and changing it into a drone launcher. She fired it with a single click of the trigger and it flew over Izzy Glow's body with a trail of smoke made of aura behind it.

The Reploid looked up too late, as the drone blinked a few times and then exploded, bombarding the general area with a series of tiny missiles. Izzy Glow's laser stopped as he tried to defend himself, but his body wasn't properly prepared for firepower of this magnitude and the explosions soon had him pinned to the ground.

Shina shook her arm around and gave it a couple puffs of breath to try and cool it off, all while running towards her opponent. Izzy Glow stood up and snapped his fingers to release a blinding flare from his tail. Shina's eyes were forced shut and she stumbled back, with Izzy Glow charging straight ahead with his tail pointed forward.

But as the flash of light fizzled out, the Reploid would find the pointed tip of a harpoon stabbed into his tail, shattering it and stopping the energy from being produced. The Reploid looked up and saw Shina having her eyes squint shut and the harpoon gun hung across her left arm.

"Sorry, but you'll never be able to blind my aura senses!" Shina smiled and pulled on the trigger, shooting the harpoon straight through Izzy Glow's body and dragging him into the wall. His body spasmed a couple of times as hot sparks shot out of his broken tail.

"I...I...what was I...doing...? What...happened to...meeeeeee?" Izzy Glow shut down with a frightened and confused lamentation towards his situation. Shina, in spite of being his executioner, now froze up a bit with a blank stare towards his lifeless body.

"He was...infected all along?" When the realization hit Shina dropped her weapons and wrapped her arms around her body, patting down her hips and waist to try and find even the slightest sign that something was wrong. In spite of everything though, she was still herself.

"...Alia, please get me out of here as soon as possible." She requested with an uneased frown.

" _...It's unfortunate this had to happen. But we'll make sure his technology is put to good use."_ Alia said, a heavy sigh coming through before she spoke.

Before Alia picked her up with the teleporter, Shina walked over to Izzy Glow's corpse and plucked one of his attenae off for X, holding it even with her waist before taking a respectful bow and saying, "I'm sorry doc...I promise though, your technology's gonna be in safe hands!"

Then, Shina was carried away from the soon to be abandoned laboratory by a flash of light...

 _Next Time: Fight or Flight_


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: The Rite of Evolution**

"What are you talking about?"

Zero had just emerged from his capsule in the middle of a laboratory, where a group of a dozen or so standard Reploids with lab coats had just finished running a diagnosis on him. One of the Reploids walked up to him with a tapestry of information grasped in both hands and repeated what he knew with confidence, "There's not a trace of the Sigma Virus inside of you Zero. In fact, you're looking even better than you usually do!"

Zero slanted his brows and waved his right hand out, demanding of the Reploid, "Give me that."

"Huh?" The paper was ripped out of the Reploids' gasp with him making a pitiful effort to hold on, and as Zero began to go over his own diagnosis the Reploid drew his extended arm back to rub the side of his head and grumble.

"What, you _want_ to be infected or something?"

His voice was drowned out by the thoughts Zero was experiencing as he examined the results and confirmed that the scientist was speaking the truth. Yet, the truth was nowhere near strong enough to shake the doubt free from Zero's mind. Crumpling the paper and tossing it to the ground, he stretched his hands out before the chest and looked at their palms with a shakiness running through them.

" _This can't be right...I swear, I could feel the Sigma Virus entering my body. But...there's nothing wrong with me?"_ Zero's face was wraught with concern, his eyes bulging out while the pupils shrank to the size of pin tips. The joints in his palms cracked and creaked tightly as he clenched his fingers together into fists, and worry clouded his mind like an unwelcome storm.

"Zero! Is everything alright?!" The familiarity of X's voice snapped Zero's head upright in an instant, watching as his friend ran into the room and stopped a couple feet in front of him. Zero lowered his hands and tried his best to project a calm demeanor, giving X a terse nod of the head.

"I'm fine X. Everything checks out."

"Really?" X slanted his brows and peered deep into Zero's eyes. Zero knew that X could see right through him, he was one of the few Reploids in the world that was able to. But with a slow sealing of his eyes, Zero sighed and assured his friend, "Yes X. Don't worry about it."

"...Alright, I'm glad to hear you weren't infected." For X, seeing Zero stay relaxed even in these dire times was all the relief he needed.

For Zero, however, the response he gave had a different meaning. He remembered the promise he had made to X in the aftermath of the Repliforce incident. That if one of them were to go Maverick, then the other would be reseponsible for destroying them. It was a vow that carried a lot of weight for both parties, but it was not one that X needed to shoulder the burden of right now.

"So X, is the Enigma assembled yet?" With a natural tone to his words, Zero changed the subject of conversation to one more hopeful, to which X shook his head.

"Sorry, we're still missing one part. But Shina or Alex should be going after it right now." He answered.

"Hmm, hopefully they're successful..." Zero crossed his arms and didn't sound as though he had much faith in the two.

"You still don't trust them?" X deciphered the meaning behind his friend's tone in an instant.

"We shouldn't be trusting every Reploid that decides to help us X. You of all people should remember why."

"Those two are nothing like Double. If Sigma was using them as spies, then Alex would've destroyed the crystal ball and left us with no way to stop Eurasia." X kept his cool the entire time he spoke, and his reasoning made Zero go silent for a few seconds. Then, he walked past his friend and gave him one pat on the left shoulder along the way.

"You're always quick to see the best in others, X." Zero flashed a tiny smile to his friend before he made his way for the door out. X then stared at Zero's back for a little bit after. Even with the care spoken in Zero's voice, X could only sense a chasm growing between the two of them, and he could not understand why that was.

Some time later, Shina returned from Izzy Glow's lab with his antannae in tow. She returned to the command center and handed it off to X before going over to Alia, twiddling her pointer fingers around before the chest and glancing aside with embarrassment present in a florescent red on both cheeks.

"I'm sorry about the doc. He didn't say anything about where the Laser Drive was either..."

"Don't worry about it. That big generator you saw in his room? Turns out that's exactly what we needed. I've already assembled a team to carry it over to the Engima construction site."

"Oh, whew! Glad that worked out!" Shina perked up instantly and turned around, ending up right in the crosshairs of Alex's irritated side-of-the-face glance.

"We should be considered _lucky_. If we fail to get even a single part, then we can just kiss this planet and the artifact piece goodbye!" Alex had no choice but to throw that last bit in Shina's face just to get her to listen, but as a result she reeled back for a few seconds and stared at him without a word until he sighed and swung his left arm down while turning away.

"Forget it, we've got everything we need for the Enigma regardless..." Alex shook his head and crossed his arms, with Shina returning to an upright posture with her arms tucked back. The boy then glanced over his left shoulder at Alia and asked, "How long until it's up and running?"

"Assuming no complications?" Alia brought up footage of the Enigma being worked on on her monitor. It was a large laser cannon, being about as tall as a skyscraper, and it's barrel was where most of the height came into play. It wasn't active yet, but one look at that weapon was enough to tell that it could do some damage to Eurasia. Wiping it out entirely, however, was a different story.

"I'd give it another hour, tops." Alia stated as pure, concrete fact.

"An hour?" Shina remarked, clapping her hands together afterwards and proclaiming, "Great! That'll be enough time for me to get a check-up!"

"Shina, you're not infected by the virus." Alex rolled his eyes and groaned that out.

"Better safe than sorry!" Shina responded, leaning much more on the side of caution than her foolhardy friend. Alex turned at her, his body limp and his gaze sunk into a tired state.

"It's like I said earlier, if the virus were to infect us, we'd be able to figure it out immediately. Sigma doesn't know who we are, and hell...He'd probably get a stomach virus trying to imitate you in the first place."

"Geez, do you want me to be cautious or reckless? Make up your mind already Alex!" Shina brushed away Alex's points both vocally and physically, as her laid-back tone was joined by her sweeping the back of her right fingers out towards the boy.

"I'm going to get a check-up and that's that." Shina put her final word in and then spun around, making haste for the door while Alex wasted time and energy into swinging his right hand out and exclaiming "Wait!"

Once she was out he tightened his fingers into a fist and let it fall to his hip like a weighted pendulum, and after a guttural growl of raw frustration he looked at X and eased himself up with a sigh. Brushing a hand out towards the Hunter, he fought past any lingering hesitance to ask, "She doesn't know where she's going, can you please help her find the lab, X?"

"Sure but...what do we do if she **is** infected?" X had to ask.

"Leave that to me. She's not getting infected. Not on my watch." Alex stared with a firm, unshakeable confidence to his voice, proceeding to tuck his hands into both pockets and closing his eyes to let out another, heavier sigh.

X didn't say another word as he left the room, and once the steel doors were sealed tight enough Alex reeled his head back and groaned, _"She just doesn't get it...But I guess I'm_ _ **stupid**_ _too for still caring this much about her."_

He then looked down and found Zero was his only company left besides Alia, who was hard at work giving the construction workers orders. The two exchanged a sideways glance for a few seconds, both their brows slanting halfway until they looked away and didn't say a word to each other.

Everything was pretty quiet for a while after, and the hour Alia mentioned seemed like it's pass on by as quick and easy as a summer's breeze. However, in the middle of that passage of time, Alia pulled back in her chair and let out a brief murmur of shock as her monitor fizzled out into static.

"Huh?" Alia moved her hand towards the monitor and gave it a brief rub along the back, but found that nothing was out of place. With a puzzled curl of the lips, she then tapped the right key on her keyboard and tried to switch viewpoints, only to be met with the same static as before.

The static was loud enough that it reached Zero and Alex from far away, and the two walked on over to check up on her. Zero got there first, raising his hand up beside his chest and inquiring, "Are we having a power shortage?"

"Can't be. I made sure of it..." Alia focused more on the monitor than giving an answer, and she tapped away at the right key to keep flipping the perspective over to other cameras. Each observance of static takes place over the span of a millisecond, until Alia locks down a camera that was still active and focused on the exterior of the Enigma. Then, right as she found that viewpoint, it was cut off by something sharp ramming itself into the lens.

"The Enigma's under attack?!" Zero remarked in a confused and angered huff.

"Doesn't look like it's a minor one either. Only an army could have taken out that many cameras simultaneously." Alia added her view to the topic at hand.

"I guess it was silly to think we could hide anything from Sigma...Considering he spread his viral form across the entire planet." Alex said with a nonchalant brush of the hand out from his crossed arms. He then turned towards the door and drew his sword.

"We can't let the Enigma be destroyed. I'll go and mop up the trash, you two stay here."

Zero made one sharp turn around and wrenched his hand around Alex's left elbow, forcing him to look back and see the stern glare in the Hunter's eyes as he stated, "You can't handle that many Mavericks alone. I'm coming with you."

Alex waggled his arm free and shrugged his shoulders with a light pucker of the lips, relenting without even an iota of a fight, "If you say so."

The two made their way for the teleporters, Alia already punching in the coordinates as fast as she could. Thankfully, there was just enough energy in the base to send the duo off to battle. After a brief flash of light enveloped their bodies, they were sent to the wasteland the Enigma was being assembled in. There they landed at the base of the massive weapon, standing firmly behind where the cannon was positioned.

Zero grabbed his sword and swung it out, looking in every direction his eyes would let him. However, there wasn't a single Maverick in sight, and the Enigma itself looked unscratched. Zero raised his other hand to the side of his head and got in contact with Alia.

"There's nobody here. Are you **sure** it's not just a glitch with the cameras?" Zero wanted the full, honest truth from Alia and nothing less would satisfy him.

" _There's something going on here Zero...Stay on your guard."_

"Well what do you know? Throw out the right kind of bait, and you'll always hook in a big catch." A very laid-back and nonchalant voice spoke to the two from up above. It only took a second for them to rear their heads back and find someone sitting on the back of the Enigma.

They were a Reploid about the same height as Alex with a perfectly humanoid build to them. Their armor was navy blue save for their hands, shoulder joints and toes, which were a sleek pearl white. On his head was a compacted helmet complete with a pair thin ovalular green lights and a glass red visor that covered his eyes. With his silver blue hair waving in the wind and one leg crossed over the other, the Reploid had a dashing demeanor to him reminiscent of the cowboys of yore.

Once his eyes met with Zero and Alex's, the Reploid stood up and laid one hand on his hip, snapping the fingers of his other out as he proclaimed, "The world famous Hunters, Zero and-"

Pausing for a moment with his focused directed towards Alex, the Reploid blinked a couple times then lowered his arm in front of the chest, summoning a holographic projection of X above it. One quick scan left a small frown on his face before he shook his head and shrugged the matter off.

"Ok scratch that. Guess I'm only going to be fighting Zero and some random peon."

"...Peon?" Alex squinted his eyes and wasn't insulted so much as he was flabbergasted that the Reploid had the gall to say something like that in such an up-and-front manner. With a smirk, the Reploid then leapt off the Enigma and showed off his skills with a couple flips before making an upright landing five feet from the duo.

He motioned his right hand out and bent the fingers back, almost announcing to his opposition to 'bring it on' were it not for his greeting right after, "I've been looking forward to playing with you for a long time Zero. The name's Dynamo, the head honcho of the Shadow Corps."

"You're what?!" The matter-of-fact nature of Dynamo's introduction broke Zero's cool in that moment, while Alex was just left staring at the opposing Reploid and saying with the left of his face slacking in confusion, "Shadow...Corps? Never heard of you."

"Well duh, cause we live in the _shadows_ ," Dynamo playfully retorted with a smile before laying his hand back down on his hip and shaking his head, "Not the sharpest tool in the shed, are you?"

" _No, it's just there never WAS a Shadow Corps on this world before..."_ After a brief growl Alex howled out in frustration in his head, _"Stupid, garbage alternate timeline...!"_

Zero swung his sword towards the Reploid and yelled out with a hint of bitterness, "Your group has a lot to answer for after you framed Repliforce and killed all those government officials!"

"Heh, time really does fly doesn't it? It's already been five months since that happened. Gotta say, that was a busy time for me and my men." Dynamo relayed his opinion on the accusations as though it had been just another day on the job for him.

"Do you even know how many people died because of what you did?!" Zero exclaimed, taking the Reploid's nonchalance very personally.

"About a high hundred-thousand? Maybe more?" Dynamo knew the amount, he just frankly didn't care and said as much to the two, "What does it matter anyways? The moment I stepped one foot into this area the big ol' Maverick label was stamped square on my head."

"...Ok, I'm lost," Was a sentence Alex would've expected Shina to say in this situation, "Just who in the HELL are the Shadow Corps?"

" _They were a top secret Reploid squadron that carried out assassination orders on high-priority targets both human and Reploid for the government."_ Alia said, the explanation turning Alex's puzzled expression into a cross and dour one as gripped his blade in both hands and joined Zero in pointing it towards Dynamo.

"So they're nothing more than hired thugs to keep the government from dirtying their hands. Why am I _not_ surprised?" His pessimism rose to the surface of his throat and projected utter disdain towards the chill Dynamo.

"Thugs? Sheesh, you make it sound like we clubbed all our targets to death or something," Dynamo snickered, humored by the remark rather than taking offense, "Honestly though, can't say we were enjoying our time working under the heels of the government anyways. So good riddance to them all, I say."

"And what made you think going Maverick would be any better?" Zero inquired.

"Oh don't get me wrong. I didn't like working for the government, but I wasn't going to cut ties with them over something as silly as my personal hatred. A hot-head will always leave you burned, as they say."

"...Sigma," Zero spoke his name out of the blue, "It was Sigma, wasn't it?"

"Ha! Hit the nail right on the metaphorical coffin." Dynamo congratulated Zero with a couple sincere claps before his chest, earning him the full intensity of his glare.

"Yep. Sigma specifically sought out me and my men for one purpose...To fulfill his mission of bringing about the next stage in Reploid evolution."

"The next stage in Reploid evolution...?" Alex remarked with a hint of curiosity, realizing afterwards that he hadn't intended to come off that way.

"Zero, haven't you and X ever been curious as to why so many people take interest in your capabilities? The X-Hunters, Doppler, hell, even Colonel and General. Why, just why, are you two so much more special than all the other Reploids?"

Zero didn't have to say a word, his longing gaze said everything it needed to for him. However, all Dynamo could offer was a shrug of the shoulders and an honest, "To be frank, I have no idea myself. But apparently both of you have something inside of your circuitry that's crucial for Reploids to obtain their full potential."

"You're being used by Sigma, idiot," Alex put it bluntly, "Now you're just a hired thug for a different kind of scumbag."

"Ooooh...What a fiesty fire you have in those eyes of yours. You oughta chill out kid, unless you want to fry your circuits from the inside-out." Dynamo smiled and then looked towards the sky, which was currently a dark shade of red thanks to Eurasia eclipsing the sun.

"If I just had Sigma's word to go on we wouldn't even be here. However, Sigma's got a veeery interesting accomplice with him, one who seems to knowmore about **you** than you do." Dynamo slowly pointed his right hand up towards Zero, fully grabbing the Hunter's attention.

" **He's** the one who assured me that Sigma's goals **will** come to fruition. Once I saw all the evidence laid before me, I KNEW I had to have some cut of the gib."

"And hey, while there's been a lot of busywork setting up the Eurasia crash, at least everything is heading the way it sh-"

"The Eurasia Crash too?!" Alex was the one to express his rage at the Reploids' actions this time. Dynamo lifted his head up a bit and gestured his arm out before saying nonchalantly, "Yeah? I mean, don't tell me you thought Sigma was behind that too?"

"There won't be any Reploids alive if the colony hits the planet! Even you'll perish!" Zero tried to make Dynamo see reason. But the Reploid already was thinking rationally, and with a click of his tongue and shake of the head he chastised his company.

"You really don't get it, do you?"

"There's nothing TO get! You're just another filthy Maverick!"

"Look, I've got nothing personal against any of you Hunters. You were just as much dogs of the government as I used to be, after all...But you all need to face reality."

With a dastardly smirk, Dynamo delivered a cold, hard truth to everyone who was listening, "In this world, the strong survive and the weak die. That's the creed I've always lived by."

"...You're not wrong," Alex spoke up, but then he arched his brows downward and thrust his sword up at the Reploid, "But Mavericks like you don't get to decide who lives and who dies. If you're so hellbent on committing genocide to accomplish your goals, then the Maverick Hunters will do everything in their power to stop you!"

"Hey, if you do, you do. That just means I was too weak." Dynamo took the full brunt of Alex's decree with a smile and an unnatural ease to his demeanor. With a short waggle of his right pointer finger, the Reploid then remarked, "But trust me. You can't retire me no matter how hard you try!"

Alex leapt into the air and Zero dashed forward with swords drawn back for the attack. Dynamo stood his ground and reached for his back with one hand, waiting until the last second to whip his body in a circle and swing up a double-sided energy blade to block both strikes at the same time. The energy of his blades flickered like newborn embers, holding off two powerful foes with little support from it's wielder.

The duo pushed back, Alex landing on the ground and bending his legs down ready to charge forward. Dynamo positioned himself upright and flicked his hand out, throwing his weapon out horizontally towards Alex's legs. The boy jumped over the sword, leaving Zero to block it by jabbing his own blade into the ground, and then flew down at Dynamo.

The Reploid hopped one feet back with a hand tucked at the hip, evading the diagonal slash Alex attempted to cleave him with. But the force of the slash kicked up an impressive bluster of wind that caused Dynamo to pucker his lips and let out a brief whistle. Alex thrust his gaze upward and gripped his blade in both hands, dragging it back up towards the dead center of Dynamo's chest. Leaning back was all it took to dodge the sharp blade, after which Dynamo threw one left hook into Alex's gut to test his mettle.

The boy's eyes popped open for a second, but his body didn't buckle down under pressure in the slightest. Dynamo kept a smile on his face but raised his brows with intrigue as he remarked, "Well well, Sigma didn't mention anything about you."

Alex began to bring his sword down, but Dynamo unfurled his fingers and slipped an already active bomb onto the boy's chest. With the blade an inch away from his helmet, Dynamo took a couple steps back and didn't flinch as the bomb exploded. Alex was thrown to the ground and sent tumbling, striking Zero in the legs and bowling him over onto his stomach. Dynamo pinched his thumb and pointer together in the front of his mouth and whistled, calling his sword back into him.

"You're too quick to attack. Chill out a bit." He advised while using precise flicks of the wrist to spin the blade around like a pinwheel at his side. Zero pushed himself up first and ran right at Dynamo with blade grasped in one hand.

Zero swung his blade out with a quick and precise cut towards Dynamo's chest. The Reploid loosened the grip on his blade and used just one finger to spin it around in front of his body to deflect Zero's attack. Zero kept up the assault with a few more more quick slashes, the tip of the blade slipping past Dynamo's arm and managing to wound him. Dynamo gripped his blade tight in the middle and gave it one hard swing to the right, cutting Zero across the top of his chest and pushing him back a couple feet.

Zero laid a hand atop the scar for a moment and then looked up as Dynamo sprung into the air and held his sword back, dispelling one of the blades for the time being. Dynamo lashed the blade out as though he was in control of a whip, the energy doubling in length and forcing Zero to hold his blade vertically before it could strike his face.

Suspended in mid-air, Dynamo was about to strike again when the crackle of electricity entered his ears. Right as he raised his head, a loose ball of lightning as big as his body struck him in the face and grounded him right away. Though he landed on his back, he threw his legs up and pushed himself upright in a second, brushing off some static lingering on his chest with a gentle swipe of the hand.

He then heard the roar of thunder from above and leapt back, evading the fall of a gigantic lightning bolt. Alex walked up beside Zero with his right fingertips laced with high voltage and an unenthused look in his eyes. Dynamo grinned from cheek to cheek and placed his sword onto his back, laying that very hand on his hip as he remarked, "So where'd you come from anyways? Never heard of a Reploid like you before."

Alex summoned flames in his right hand and swung it back, tightening the hand into a fist and punching the air hard enough to summon a shockwave. He then took one step forward and planted the foot deep into the rocky ground, throwing his hand out and releasing a beam of flame upon Dynamo. The Reploid was bathed in the light of the crimson flames but only opened his mouth in awe before whipping his sword out in both hands and spinning the dual blades out faster than the fastest blender.

"Geez, what's your problem? I was just trying to have a conversation!" Dynamo remarked, insulted so much by Alex's crass attitude that he focused more on that than diverting the flames around his body. Alex kept the flames going even as none of them struck their target head-on, doing little more than dragging Dynamo's feet through the rugged stone.

Then, the flames were punctured through by a rain of light beams summoned by Zero punching the ground, and Dynamo's defenses could not hold up as a couple of them smashed into his body. Alex threw his hand down and shook off the embers, panting a bit from using up as much energy as he did at once. Dynamo's body fizzled with steam, but didn't seem to take any visible damage. In fact, he quickly brushed the steam away and threw a merry smile at his opponents.

"Not a bad technique you have there Zero," Dynamo tucked his sword back and swung his glowing right fist up, "Mind if I use it?"

He smashed the ground enough to make it shake at Alex and Zero's feet, followed by the sky opening up and a bombardment of light beams coming down towards the two, more numerous than what Zero was able to summon. Zero and Alex drew their swords and ran at Dynamo without a second thought, cutting the beams of light down with one swift and hard slash every time without losing focus on their target. Dynamo stood in the center of the onslaught and drew his blade up with his right hand, giving it a quick spin before positioning it in front of his chest in anticipation for the duo's attack.

Standing right in front of their target, the duo stamped their feet down and gripped their blades in both hands, pointing them away from their foe. Then they swung up with all their might, slicing a giant "X" of jagged energy into the air while Dynamo felt confident that his defense hold. For a few seconds his body remained motionless, his blade lying as firm as an iron wall. Then Dynamo found his teeth gritting together as the energy of his blade snapped in twine like a pair of thin branches, and an "X" shaped cut was engraved across his armor.

He stumbled a couple steps back and hunched forward, holding his damaged blade at the hip. Though he now looked a little exhausted, Dynamo kept a smile on his face and snapped his left fingers out at his opponents, "Not bad, not bad at all! Sigma wasn't kidding...You're pretty skilled after all, Zero."

He then shifted his gaze towards Alex and said, "And you...Looks like I'll have to learn more about you before we meet again."

"What, you think you'll get to run away?" Zero stated with his blade pointed forward.

"I told you didn't I? There's no human or Reploid alive who can scrap me. And I'm sure as heck not going to die when I haven't even gotten a chance to go all-out! But next time we meet, you better drag X out to fight too. Adios, amigos!" Before Alex or Zero could consider attacking, Dynamo snapped his fingers and teleported away similar to how the Hunters prefer to travel, leaving the duo to their own devices for now.

Alex blinked a couple times and dispelled his sword, crossing his arms and quickly murmuring, "D-Did that seriously just happen?"

"If he shows his face around here again, we'll take him down. For now..." Zero made the right call in ignoring the mysterious Reploid and contacting Alia, asking her while looking up at the collosal weapon, "Is the Enigma alright?"

" _I got the cameras back up and running, let me just do a quick scan and..."_ After a few seconds of pause Alia replied, _"That's strange...The Enigma is undamaged. That Dynamo person only killed the personnel working on it."_

"What was the point of attacking then? You can just get some more Reploids out here." Alex was perhaps a little callous brushing off those lives like that, but Alia did agree with his point regardless.

" _Sounds to me like he just wanted to test you or X's strength, Zero."_

"Or perhaps he believes we'll fail to destroy Eurasia even if we gather everything we need." Zero said, offering a realistic take on Dynamo's intentions.

"Not like he'd have any way of knowing," Alex says with confidence, "Lets just get back to base and get ready for the fireworks."

"...Fine. Alia?"

" _On it. I'll have some replacements there to finish the Enigma right away."_

Zero and Alex returned to HQ, and went back to the command center to wait for the Enigma to finish. Their swift and quiet resumption of waiting around was something even the two of them found odd. Considering what Dynamo had accomplished as an ally of Sigma, his appearance was but a footnote in the current events of the world.

After a few minutes passed, X and Shina entered the room, with her announcing their presence with a triumphant cry of, "We're all good! I'm not sick!"

She then looked ahead and saw Alex and Zero leaning against the projector in the center of the room, arms crossed with a contemplative look in their eyes. Shina sprinted up to Alex and leaned forward to get in his face, asking him quietly, "Something up?"

Alex looked up and unfolded his arms, answering her honestly, "We need to talk."

He took her off to the side so the others wouldn't hear what he had to say. At the same time, Zero decided to consort with X about Dynamo. After the two parties had been fully briefed on what happened, X raised a hand to his chin and thought back to the Repliforce incident.

"That Reploid was the leader of the Shadow Corps? That's the same group that Double was working under."

"From the sounds of things they used our war with Repliforce to cover their tracks regarding Eurasia." Zero responded.

"...The next time Dynamo shows up, let me handle him Zero."

"You sure X? I was able to fend him off just fine."

"I'm not worried about that. But we've lost many trusted allies because of what he's done. I...feel it's my duty to give our fallen comrades some peace." X didn't let vengeance cloud his thoughts as he spoke, and a part of Zero could understand that. Though he didn't outright state it to X, Zero did want vengeance against Dynamo for what happened to Iris, even if it was just one of his subordinates who was ultimately responsible.

"Alright X. But if that Maverick knows what's good for him, then he won't come back." Once Zero said that, X nodded his head in agreement.

Over with Alex and Shina, she tilted her head and wiggled a finger in front of her chin, "So in this timeline...there's a secret Reploid assassination force that Dynamo is the leader of?"

"Yeah. Sounds pretty stupid, doesn't it?"

"I mean...we've dealt with stupider stuff." Shina shifted her gaze left and right and waved her fingertips around. Alex opened his mouth ready to produce a firm retort, but then slumped his jaw shut and found there was no counterargument he could make that wouldn't come across as needless contrarianism.

"M-More importantly though..." He then crossed his arms and forced a cough, "It seems that Dynamo and Sigma are working with someone who is familiar with how Zero works."

"Huh? But the only one who'd know how he works is Wi-"

"Don't go spouting that name out!" Alex reprimanded her through tight grit teeth, whispering to her right after, "I was considering that, but think about it...He's **dead**. And not just dead, he's so dead that his corpse has been buried longer than he lived! So whoever knows about Zero must've simply found his notes and took interest in his true power."

"...Oh!" Shina widened her eyes and then planted a fist firmly on an open palm before her chest, "And maybe that person was given the artifact piece instead of Sigma!"

"Now you understand. As long as we keep working with the Maverick Hunters to thwart the bad guys' plans, we'll find the ringleader and the artifact piece in no time." Alex said, briefly flashing a smile at Shina being on the same wavelength of thought as him.

"But wait a minute..." Shina laid a finger to the side of her face and bobbed it to and fro, staring upward while thinking things through a little more, "Wouldn't the big bad still have given the artifact piece to Sigma anyways? Seems like it'd be the best way to accomplish his goals..."

"Oh goddamn it you're right!" Alex threw his hands up in frustration and walked away, realizing that now they were firmly back to square one.

With nothing else to go on for the time being, the two decided to wait around for the Enigma to be fired off. The next hour passed on by in the blink of an eye, and when Alia knew for certain the Enigma was done she called everyone to the center of the room. Signas had returned to the command center as well, for the fate of the world was something he could idly ignore.

Alia popped up a clear view of the Enigma over the screen, using her laptop to control the machine from great distances. Signas folded his arms back and looked up, remarking in a curious tone, "Is everything ready to go Alia?"

"We had a bit of a delay thanks to that Reploid, but now we're ready to go. Energy charge's complete, the power is at maximum, and the angle of the cannon is perfectly aligned with the Eurasia." Alia remarked.

"You have my permission to fire anytime." Signas replied.

"Ten...nine...eight..." Alia began a countdown by pressing down on a single button of her laptop, keeping her cool while her comrades took up all the tension in the room.

"Seven...six...five..." X grabbed onto his left wrist and arched his brows downward, while Zero crossed his arms and focused entirely on the screen.

"Four...three...two..." Shina crossed her fingers and closed her eyes, while Alex tucked his hands into both pockets in hopes that things will work out.

"One...!"

"FIRE!" Signas thrust his right arm up and proclaimed with all his authority, and Alia placed her right pointer finger firmly on the enter key. The Enigma's cannon brightened enough to light up the command center through the hologram, then fired a massive beam of raw energy straight towards the sky. The clouds were parted for miles around as the laser punctured through to the atmosphere, and then beyond that into space. Alia quickly shifted views to a satellite not far off from the space colony, the group watching as the laser smashed right into it's target and let loose shockwaves that shook every satellite halfway around the planet.

The collision was brief and silent in the void of space, and thus it only took a moment after for the group to watch as Eurasia was still intact. However, some damage was done, as large plates were now floating off into space. X and Zero grit their teeth while Signas let out a simple sigh, followed by Alia remarking, "Structural integrity is still at 54%..."

"That's fine. This is why we have a back-up plan." Signas remarked.

"If there's any good news, the Enigma did manage to delay the impact of the space colony by altering it's trajectory." Alia spoke out, followed by Signas turning around to address the four in front of him.

"Your efforts weren't in vain, but next time we can't afford to fail. So let us begin the Spaceshuttle Operation immediately!"

 _Next Time: Remnant of War_


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Flier for Freedom, Skiver**

Immediately after the Enigma had failed to destroy the space colony, the main four involved in thwarting Sigma's plans gathered to attention in front of the holographic projector, where Signas and Alia were about to go over the details of the next phase of the plan.

"Even though the Enigma failed to hit it's mark, we have the spaceshuttle to fall on as back-up." Signas explaiend, waving back to Alia right after so she could put said spaceshuttle on display. It was being worked on in a hidden warehouse far away from both the Maverick Hunter HQ and the Engima, but it was still in a prime position to be able to hit Eurasia.

The ship wasn't very advanced at all, much to the surprise of Alex and Shina. In fact, one could easily mistake it for one of the first ships ever built by man to go to the moon. Interrupting Signas' attempt to speak, Alex voiced his concerns bluntly, "How will this ancient hunk of scrap do anything to the colony?"

"It's power **is** insufficient at the moment, yes..." Signas replied to the question without sounding the least bit offended, "But that is why it is up to you four to gather the parts necessary to enhance it. Alia has already located said parts while you were busy focusing on the Engima."

Signas turned his head to look at her past his shoulder, and with her eyes staring deep onto the laptop she typed away as fast as she could to get the information displayed on the hologram projector. With a map of the world popping up in a flattened form, Alia summoned four lights in differing locations. One in Norway, one in Kenya, one in Brazil, and one final one in Sudan.

"We need an Orbiter Engine to help the shuttle perform better in space, a Booster Engine to increase it's speed and power, an Orbiter Wing to allow it to help with maneuverability, a Fuel Tank so it can last the trip up..." Alia then lifted head up and looked towards the group, hesitating for a brief moment on saying, "...And a pilot willing to guide the ship into Eurasia."

X's eyes flashed a look of surprise for a moment before he asked, "The shuttle's not self-guided?"

"This model's too old to have had one built-in," Alia remarked with a twinge of regret after, "I'm sorry X, but given the current situation this is the best rocket we could've gotten."

"So who's piloting it?" Zero got right to the point, seeing right through the hesitation Alia projected.

Signas glanced back at her and saw lips sealed better than the tightest of safes, upon which he chose to do what was right and address Zero's question for her, "We have been unable to find a willing pilot as of now."

"How come?" X wondered

"...In order to destroy the Eurasia, the pilot will have to crash the spaceshuttle right into it, and then eject the last minute before impact."

"At the last minute? But wouldn't that mean..."

"Yes," Signas interrupted X, "There's a high probability that the pilot's escape pod will get caught up in the ensuing blast and perish."

X's expression stiffened in shock while Zero gave the commander a stern glare and remarked, "Once the pilot candidates heard that, is it any wonder none of them volunteered?"

"...They're basically robots, why would they care about their own lives?" Alex grumbled out.

"Well...wouldn't they've been built with self-preservation circuits?" Shina pondered while laying a finger on her chin and tilting the head back and forth.

"Ghhh, it's silly no matter how you slice it!" Alex squinted his eyes shut tight and then thrust his right hand up to grab Signas' attention, declaring once his eyes were focused squarely on him, "I'll pilot the shuttle! I'm probably the only person in this room who could survive the explosion anyways..."

The last part he whispered to himself, but his strong enthusiasm to the cause was all that Signas needed to here. However, it was with great dismay that the commander had to ask, "Can you even pilot a shuttle?"

"You grab onto a steering wheel and guide it to space. How hard could that be?" The moment Alex said that so certainly, Shina bit down on her lower lip and let out a hesitant hiss and drawn-out "Ooooooooo..."

Alex shifted his head aside and saw her averting her gaze away with a cheeky grin on her face, "Something you'd like to tell the class, Shina?"

"Weeeeeell...piloting a spaceship isn't as easy as driving a car ya know? You gotta use just the right amount of propulsion to breech the atmosphere, make sure not to overheat the engines, don't-"

"Fine then Ms. ROCKET SCIENTIST, then why don't you climb in the shuttle and fly it if you know so much about how they work?!" Alex declared with eyes as enflared as a rampaging bull and arms swung out in front of his hips.

"Just cause I know how they work doesn't mean I can pilot it, silly. Stuff like this is better left to the experts!" Shina then threw her right thumb over the shoulder and nudged at Zero and X a couple times.

"We'll work this out later. There won't even be a pilot if we don't have a working shuttle." Zero commented on.

"Fine, fine, lets get this over with." Alex shrugged his shoulders and closed his eyes.

For a few seconds there was silence, as the four looked at the map and decided which part to go after first. Staring at the dot in Norway for a bit, Zero ended up speaking out first, "Alia, you said one of the parts is in Norway. Which one exactly?"

"...The Orbiter Wing." Alia hesitated for only a moment, for she knew that Zero had already pieced together what she was trying to hide.

"Then that's where the Repliforce Air Force is," Zero remarked before turning around to face the door, "...I'll go get the Orbiter Wing."

"I'll set the coordinates. Be careful out there." Despite her concerns, Alia stuck to her duties without saying a single dissuading word. After all, she could always count on X to do that job for her.

"Wait! Zero!" He walked up to Zero and waited for him to turn around and look him face-to-face before he suggested, "Let me handle this. I-I know you're still..."

"I'll be fine X. I just need to have a talk with the person running the base." Once he laid his assurance out to his comrade, Zero turned back around and kept walking. As he left the room, X stood still and could sense that something was off with his friend, and his fist tightened up next to his hip as he lamented his inability to help...

Zero went into the teleporter room, a cycle that he's repeated so many times that he was almost bothered by how natural it had become. He was teleported before he even realized he had walked onto the device, but upon his arrival he didn't care to think about the unending cycle of being a Maverick Hunter. Drawing his sword, he began to scan the environment for possible enemy activity.

There were a couple jets docked on both sides of this metallic walkway, all of them untouched and inactive. But there were no workers in the area, which was the giveaway to Zero that something was wrong. Focusing on the airbase straight ahead, Zero dashed towards it but was stopped quickly by an alert from Alia.

" _Wait! I'm sensing thermal energy coming from within the base. It appears to be coming from...bombs?!"_

"Bombs? Here? Were our movements leaked to this base?" Zero peered around the corner of the wall he tucked behind and saw that the tight corridors of the base were occupied by two groups of Reploids. The first group consisted of stout blue and yellow Reploids with tiny domed heads and unblinking red eyes, some of them hauling bombs half as big as their bodies. The other group consisted of standard humanoid model Reploids with sleek pilot helmets and armored vests, most of them tied up by steel rope and squirming to break free.

"Grrhhhh...! You dirty rotten traitors! After everything the boss has done for you, this is how you repay him?!" One of the captured Reploids snarled out, only to earn the barrels of one of the other Reploids' guns to his forehead.

"Shut your mouth! Ever since Colonel and General pulled their coup, Repliforce has been nothing but a friggin' joke in the eyes of the public! It's high-time me and my buddies cut our ties and swear our loyalty to Sigma!" The Reploid replied with a gruff and mob-boss like voice.

"Swear loyalty to...?! The world's coming to an end and you're more concerned about who'll give you a better cut of the gib?!"

"Hehehe, who cares about some puny space rock anyways?! The Maverick Hunters'll deal with that pesky thing, and then we'll be the one cashing out on the chaos!" The Reploid then turned himself towards his men and thrust his fist into the air with a daring proclamation of, "Hail Sigma!"

"HAIL SIGMA!" The response of the men was akin to a bellowing moan of sinful indulgence, and was a clear sign that the Reploids had lost all semblance of their sanity. With a dry chuckle, the leader of this uncouth rebellion dug the lip of his gun's barrel into the 'skull' of the defiant hostage and said, "Right now my men are setting up bombs all over this base. Once they're done, all I hafta do is press a button and KABLAMO...This entire base goes up in flames!"

"But don't worry... _You_ won't be around to experience it!" The Reploid began to pull on the trigger as his hostage stared him up with a defiant scowl.

"AAAAAH!" One of the other Reploids screamed before his body was sliced down the middle and thrown across the room, falling on the ground with his bare circuits sparking out like a fountain. The head honcho looked back in puzzlement for a moment before the staggering of his men got him to notice the company in the room. Hunched over with blade held down and one hand above his head, Zero locked eyes with the leader of the rebellion and caused fear to strike deep into their core.

"Z-Zero?!" The Reploid pulled his gun back and paced themselves away from Zero, who thrust his sword up and slowly advanced towards them.

"Lay down your weapons and surrender immediately, or you will be destroyed."

The Reploid leader stood beside his shaken comrades, one of whom turned their heads and whispered, "B-Boss...the bombs ain't ready yet!"

The Reploid shifted his head as if taking great offense at the comment, then whipped the side of his gun up and smacked the back of the mooks' head to force him to take the lead, "Then STALL 'em you bucket of bolts! I'm getting outta here!"

The leader turned tail and scrambles away as fast as his little legs would allow. The men he left behind looked at each other and then at Zero, who gripped his sword tight in his hands to the point his knuckles were heard creaking. Raising their shaking gun, one of the Reploids closed their eyes and fired a laser straight at Zero's head.

Before Zero could even blink, he sliced the laser in two with a single slash and then dashed at the mob of hapless mooks. The one who attacked only managed half of a dejected sigh before he was cut down the middle. Then, Zero weaved through the laser fire of the remaining enemies and cut them through with one slice each, clearing the room in five seconds flat.

He then turned towards the hostages and placed his sword back, grabbing the steel ropes with his bare hands and snapping them apart with a single tug. The four Reploids shook their arms and stood up, with Zero remarking in a detached, dutiful manner, "You're safe now."

He was about to turn around and leave when one of the Reploids called out his name, "Hold on, Zero!"

Zero turned back around with a curious murmur and a serious look in the eyes, waiting as the Reploid offered the sincerest gratitude to him, "T-Thank you for rescuing me and my men."

"...Do you have any idea where all the bombs are?" Zero inquired.

"No, but we know this base like the back of our hands. We'd have better luck finding them then you would."

"You're right. I'll find whatever bombs I can, but it won't make a difference if I don't deal with the leader." Zero pointed out.

"Sorry you had to come all the way out here just to deal with this, even if it's your job."

"Actually..." Zero paused for a moment and then closed his eyes, turning away from the Reploids and choosing not to ask about their leader, "Never mind. We can't waste anymore time."

He dashed ahead, plunging deeper into the base in pursuit of the coup's ringleader. More of the leader's men got in his way, but were unable to provide more than a momentary distraction for the Hunter. His focus went more towards finding the bombs with every Reploid he cut down. There were a couple bombs placed in obvious locations, such as next to gas lines and on the sides of jet runways, but most of them were put in baffling locations such as by a normal door or on the floor of a regular hallway.

After five minutes of scouring the base as much as his capabilities would allow, Zero couldn't find hide or hair of the leader. He slanted his brows and stayed cautious as he exited the current building and ended up outside. The fresh air graced his presence with a calm breeze, but there was no time to relax as Zero looked on ahead and saw the Reploid he was pursuing riding an elevator up a slope to the next building. The moment he saw the Hunter, the leader bounced up and down, performing a taunting jig for a few seconds.

"Hahaha! You're outta luck, Maverick Hunter! You'll never be able to reach me up here!"

"Want to bet on it?" Zero bent down and prepared to make the leap, when the Reploid flinched and then hastily placed his thumb down on a button atop his gun, a feature that none of his men shared.

"T-Try anything funny and I'll blow this whole place sky-high!" The Reploid was shaky, leading Zero to believe that his target was bluffing. But at the same time, his line of work had exposed him many times to the desperation of cornered Mavericks. With the fate of many innocent Reploids unaccounted for, along with the uncertainty regarding the bombs, Zero stilled his blade and formed a small scowl. The Reploid then laid his hands on the front on his belly and guffawed with incredible arrogance.

"That's right! I've got you right where I want ya! Once I've gotten to the top of this base, I'm gonna commandeer the commander's personal ride and high-tail it outta this stupid joint! Then I can safely enjoy the fireworks from a distance, while you and the other nitwits perish in the flames!"

The Reploid was so absorbed in his own bragging that he failed to notice a figure landing on the edge of the platform behind him. Only when said figured spread their wings and draped the entire elevator in shadow did the Reploid freeze up and slowly turn themselves around. With a hardy gasp, the Reploid threw their hands beside their hips and took a couple steps back, stopping with heels slanted off the edge.

Standing before him was a tall and stern looking Reploid with the head commonly depicted of the mythical pegasus, and wings as wide and fantastic as one too. Otherwise, his body was a standard build for a Reploid of his position, with his white coat enhanced by the red lines along the top of his wings and the front of his legs. Proudly, he displayed the symbol of Repliforce between his eyes.

"C-C-Commander, I-" The Reploid tried to plead, but in the snap of the moment the pegasus bent down and plunged his fist through the Reploid's gut.

"Only one of my men can address me that way..." The pegasus' voice was devoid of nonsense but filled with pride. The Reploid squirmed but had enough strength to try and reach for the button on his gun.

"You will NOT sully the honor of Repliforce any further!" The pegasus' eyes popped open in a rage as he twisted his fist in deeper and crunched the Reploid's core down to worthless scrap. The Reploid's grip loosened on the gun, and it fell to his side. Then, the pegasus pulled his fist out and let gravity drag the traitor to his rightful place...The cold, lonesome ground below.

With the threat the traitor presented neutralized, the pegasus reared his head up and looked down, noticing that Zero was watching him from below. Raising his brows in surprise, the Reploid relaxed himself and flew off the elevator to greet the Hunter. He levitated in place on the edge of the platform with a gentle flapping of his wings, starting off on familiar terms, "It's been some time Zero. I didn't even know you were here."

"Skiver..." Zero's recognition of the Reploid's name was the highest form of honor the pegasus could receive, and with a hand rested upon his chest he responded, "Thank you for helping with the insurgents. How detestable that they would take advantage of the chaos like this..."

Skiver spit in the opposite direction of Zero while crossing his arms. Zero waved his arm out and admitted, "I didn't come here to deal with them, but I'm glad to have been of assistance."

"Then you have other business to attend to? Whatever do you need?" Skiver seemed more than happy to listen to what Zero had to say, which was something the Hunter found relieving.

"We're looking to borrow one of your Oribital Wings to help power a spaceshuttle that'll destroy Eurasia."

"So, you are working on a way to destroy that space colony. I should've known," Skiver then looked down for a moment, humming to himself before he could offer an answer, "I would be more than willing to part with an Orbiter Wing. However, first I want you to come and meet me on the second floor's runway."

"How come?"

"There's a matter I want to discuss with you. Please...once the elevator comes back down, come and see me." The Skiver wasn't the least bit pushy, and fully expected Zero to respond to his humble request seeing how he turned away and took off towards the building on the opposite side of the elevator. Zero saw him off with a stern, curious glance.

" _Wonder what he wants?"_ Alia pondered.

"I can only guess..." Zero murmured, hiding his suspicions for the time being as he looked on ahead and saw that the elevator was in the midst of descending back into place. It was moving pretty slow, and Zero was stuck waiting for a minute or so.

" _If you need something to do Zero, I'm detecting a familiar energy source on a platform right below. Might as well check it out."_

Zero nodded his head then went to the edge of the platform he was on. He kneeled down and saw that there was indeed a single platform suspended underneath. He grabbed onto the edge and pushed himself over it, landing safely on the platform below. One glance ahead revealed to him another Dr. Light capsule just lying by it's lonesome.

" _A fifth capsule?"_ Alia murmured in surprise.

"That's unusual?" Zero wasn't too fazed by the matter as he approached the capsule to activate it.

" _Well, there's always four pieces of armor for X to pick up, and we already acquired them..."_

Zero squinted his eyes a bit and placed a hand close to the handle of his sword as the hologram whirred to life, revealing the visage of Dr. Light. Zero paused for a moment to stare the doctor in the eyes, but found it difficult for him to loosen his grip on the blade. He glanced back and seemed surprised, especially as his arm stiffened up and locked itself into place.

" _Is something the matter?"_ The moment Light spoke, Zero found he could release his grip without a single problem, though his body was shaken up a bit after until he crossed his arms against the chest.

"I'm fine...But what are you doing all the way out here?"

" _Though you have managed to acquire all the pieces of the Falcon Armor for X, I fear that one armor is not enough given the circumstances. That is I why I have also constructed the Gaea Armor for him to use. Step inside this capsule, and I will transmit the data for one of the parts to Alia."_

"A second armor huh? X will be happy to hear that." Zero, in his own way, could appreciate what Dr. Light was doing, yet at the same time he couldn't shake the feeling that there was something off about the doctor. As his hologram vanished in a moment, Zero hesitated to step onto the capsule.

" _I don't think it's a trap, if that's what you're wondering."_ Alia's tone held no suspicion, but that was not enough to ease Zero's mind. Nevertheless, he stepped onto the capsule and acted as the conduit of data between locations. When the flow of data stopped, Zero stepped off the capsule and paused for a moment.

"Say, doctor..." Zero turned around, but the capsule had already shut down and sealed itself tight. He stared at it for a few seconds with a suspecting look in his eyes until Alia spoke up.

" _Well, now that that's out of the way, time to go meet with Skiver."_

"Right..." Zero closed his eyes and pondered on his reaction to the doctor while making his way back up to the elevator. He took it up to the second building and entered. While traversing it, he found the scars of a hard-fought battle had ravaged the place. All of them rotund Reploids were dead, a few bombs had been destroyed, and there were a couple large holes in the walls from Skiver charging into battle. Zero strolled through the building without saying a word, eventually finding his way outside on the other side of the building.

The runway he walked upon was suspended by diagonal girders, and overlooked a vast and beautiful ocean past the edge. In the middle of the runway was Skiver, surrounded on both sides by six aircraft. He had folded his wings in and cross his arms, staring up at the suspended sun.

Zero walked along the runway until he was seven feet behind the pegasus, at which point they let out a long sigh and said, "Whenever I stand up here, I can just feel my tension melt away..."

He turned around and stood with one side of his body pointed at his company, asking him with an expectation of honesty, "Do you have your own place where you stand around and relax, Zero?"

"Can't say I do." Zero responded immediately.

"I see..." Skiver closed his eyes, and silence permeated the area for a good while after until he spoke up again, "To think, in a time where the Sigma Virus swarms the planet like the plague...Some of my men betrayed us all over something as petty as greed."

"Terrorism or theivery...That's what all Mavericks' motivations boil down to in the end. Once you're that far gone, there's no rationalizing with them." Zero responded.

"Then I suppose you judged Colonel for the former rather than the latter, in that case." Skiver responded right away, leaving Zero stunned and silent.

"When you killed him, was it because he was beyond reasoning, or that he was simply in your way at the time?" Skiver crossed his arms and brushed one hand out, "Don't take this the wrong way. It's not that I thought what Colonel and General did was right...As far as the methods go. Change needed to happen with the relations between humans and Reploids, but doing it by holding a gun to the planet was never the right way to go about it."

"...I'm not expecting a straight answer from you, but please...Just tell me that Colonel was in his right mind when you killed him. That he hadn't succumbed to the Maverick Virus."

Zero closed his eyes and looked down before responding with an eased, stern tone, "I did my job as a Maverick Hunter. That's all there is to it."

"And what about Iris?"

"..." Zero would never respond to that question no matter how hard Skiver pressed him on it. Instead, the Hunter opened his eyes and said something else just as sufficient in it's stead.

"Just because it's my job doesn't mean I cut down my enemies without remorse. I've had to kill sworn allies as well as enemies. But every day, I wield this blade so that innocent lives will be spared the torment of war. And that hopefully, what happened to Colonel and Iris will never happen again."

"...We can only hope, can't we? But the hero this world needs isn't either you or I." Skiver responded after a pause to sigh. Zero crossed his arms and looked the Reploid in the eyes, getting right back to the point.

"Right now we need to destroy Eurasia. That can't happen without your help, Skiver."

"You're right. I've tied you up long enough in my personal issues...If you wish to take an Orbiter Wing, go right ahead. I owe you that much for saving my men."

"Alright. Thanks again for your cooperation." Zero turned around and prepared to get what he came for. Skiver waved him off, but as he did so his hand stiffened in place and began to tremble.

"What...?" He gasped in shock and wrenched his hand around the wrist to get it to stop. But the shaking got worse, and his hands started to move out towards Zero. Skiver grit his teeth and struggled to maintain control of himself, forcing his hands to grab onto the sides of his head and rear it back in pain.

"My...HEAD!" Skiver screamed, his voice ripping through the air and forcing Zero to stop and glance over his shoulder. He then turned on a dime and stared at him with shock while Alia proclaimed, _"Zero...he's!"_

"Damn it! The virus got to him too?!" Zero exclaimed. Skiver's body swayed around with hard, violent jerks in every direction.

"I-I will NOT obey...! My body is...not for you to use...!" Skiver was fighting a losing battle, as his voice grew more strained with every passing second. His head creaked and dragged itself back upright, glaring at Zero with a pair of fevered glowing red eyes.

"Something's...not right here." Zero could sense the abnormality in the air but couldn't explain it. He hesitate to grab onto his blade as Skiver ripped his hands free from the hand and spread his wings as wide as they could go.

"You killed them...kill them ALL! I'll destroy you...I'LL DESTROY YOU!" Skiver flapped his wings once and kicked up a raging gale across the runway, his body erupting with a violent purple aura as the glow in his eyes grew bright enough to radiate from the sclera.

" _Son of a...! Zero, be careful! That aura's increasing Skiver's power!"_ Alex hastily cried out into Alia's communicator.

"Is this a result of that artifact you mentioned?" Zero wondered while keeping his calm.

" _The aura's not black, so no."_ Alex replied.

Zero then swung his active sword down at the ground and then grabbed it in both hands, swerving his body to point it at Skiver, "I have no choice but to take him down now. It's what he would want."

Skiver pointed downward and dove in an arc towards Zero, swiping his hand at the ground to bundle up air into a compressed wave that moved even faster than he did. Zero swung his sword at the ground to slice the wave in half, then spun his sword aroound and performed a horizontal slice at Skiver's head. The pegasus reared his body back and threw his wings forward to guard the slash.

Skiver landed on the ground and thrust his right hand out, transforming it into a small buster cannon. With a quick charge he launched a tornado the size of Zero's body towards the ground. Zero leapt back and made a hard landing, charging up his blade and slicing through the tornado with a green crescent wave. With the manueverability of a fighter jet, Skiver evaded the counterattack and charged into Zero with his body twirling in a spiral, dragging him a few feet off the ground.

Skiver then tried to break the spiral with a thrust of his right fist, but Zero managed to swing his sword out just in the nick of time. He bounced back by striking the pegasus' knuckles, landing on the ground and immediately pointing his own buster up at Skiver to take a few shots.

The pegasus zipped back and forth, his movements near instantaneous, until he was a foot away from Zero. Skiver then spun around and struck the heel of his left foot straight into Zero's face, forcing him back a good five feet. Zero then turned his buster into a fist and slammed the ground, unleashing a wave of energy shots in a domed formation.

Skiver swung his wings forward to protect himself for the second necessary, followed by lashing them out against the hair hard enough to whip up a gale that blew Zero off his feet. Skiver charged straight ahead to try and ram him, but Zero counterattacked by turning his sword into an electric whip and lashing it around his neck. As gravity took hold Zero took advantage of the situation to swing his body around, dragging and hammering Skiver's head into the ground twice before the landing forced Zero to throw him away.

Skiver shook his body and turned around, digging both feet into the runway and halting with the help of his wings. He then thrust two busters up and created a massive tornado in an instant. The tornado dragged up the jets into it's turbulent thrall, smashing them together and causing the debris to fly out towards Zero. Some pierced the ground, others were cut in twine by Zero's peerless blade. The rain of parts quickly grew too hectic for Zero to handle though, and he was forced to retreat.

After a couple leaps back, Zero watched as the tornado ripped apart in the center via Skiver's rocketing charge, the pegasus ramming himself straight into Zero's chest before the Hunter could defend himself. Zero spat up air as his feet were worn down through constant dragging along the runway. Gritting his teeth down hard, Zero planted his feet in the ground deep enough to grind apart the stone into deep chasms, in turn stopping himself from falling off the edge.

He then wrapped his arms around Skiver's own, while the Reploid stared at him with furious eyes and lashed out, "Give...them...back! Colonel...Iris...General...Colonel...Iris...General!"

"Ghhh...!" Zero used all of his strength to keep Skiver at bay, but it wasn't working. His feet continued to move in a matter of seconds, unable to hold off the uncontrolled rage that threatened to overwhelm him. He dug his fingers in deep to Skiver's elbows and made one last desperate attempt to break free.

"Get...a hold of yourself!" Zero pulled up with his arms and forced Skiver higher into the air, the sudden disruption loosening the pressure being applied to his body. Then, after ringing him out like a wet towel, Zero threw him back down to the ground.

Skiver's impact cracked the ground enough that the edge of the runway began to crumple apart. Zero let go of the Reploid and hastened to get away in time. As he escaped the collapsing path, Skiver got up and spun around with a single spread of his wings, flying straight after his opponent.

Zero turned around with sword gripped in both hands, striking with a thick downward slash. Skiver peeled back and swung his wings forward for defense, but a moment's hesitation was enough to allow Zero to cut down the tips of the wings and cleave the Reploid in the chest. Skiver reared back with a pained neigh but did not falter for much longer, as he whipped his right arm out and struck Zero with a wave of condensed wind to push him away.

Zero sliced through the wind then swung his sword out twice upon turning it into an electric whip, hitting Skiver with two electrified projectiles to halt his advance. Skiver was paralyzed for a second with every impact, but then charged ahead with fist extended for a punch. Zero stood his ground and anticipated the attack, swinging his blade right up and striking his opponent's elbow. In a flash, the arm was severed from the rest of the body, and Skiver struck Zero in the face with nothing more than exposed wires.

Then, with a quick spin of the blade, Zero grabbed the handle in both hands and stabbed it right into the center of the Reploid's chest. The moment the tip of the blade plunged itself in, the aura around Skiver shattered, and his eyes stuttered in blank shock. Zero didn't look the Reploid in the eyes as he pulled the blade out, the sound it made deafening the sigh the Hunter released.

Skiver clenched a hand on his chest, fully in control of his movements for what little time he had left in this world. The Reploid looked up at Zero, his vision so terrible that the Hunter appeared as fading pixels. Smiling, Skiver said "You were just...doing your job..." before his lifeless husk collapsed upon the ground.

"...Hmm..." Zero placed his saber on his back and bent down at the Reploid. He lifted his head up and then used two fingers to close his eyes, laying him to rest without another word. He then stood up and picked up the hand he had cut off, holding it as his hip before remarking to Alia, "I'm done here..."

" _...Alright. I'll have another unit come over to pick up the Orbiter Wing. I'll return you to base immediately."_ And Alia did so, as Zero was warped away just a second later, leaving behind yet another victim of this cruel, cruel war.

 _Next Time: Reflections_


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Purveyor of the Stars, Dark Dizzy**

Returning to HQ after being forced to take yet another life, Zero was in the middle of making his way back to the command center with one of Skiver's hands tucked under his shoulder. But as he took one step through the door of the teleporter room, his body drooped forward all of a sudden, his vision blurring as his mind shook with an unbearable dizziness.

"Khhh...!" Zero wrenched his left fingers around the frame of the door and grit his teeth down hard, his body trying it's hardest to drag him away from it. He couldn't even muster up a single word to express the pain he was experiencing.

A couple Reploids approached Zero and asked, "Hey Zero, are you alright?"

The Hunter lifted his head and could barely see the two Reploids at first, as though they were mirages crafted by a maddening hot desert. Their voices were echoes, almost inaudible to the ears, and Zero trembled as he tried to put their presence into focus. Then, things started to clear up for Zero, but with clarity only came greater confusion as he looked up and saw two Xs standing in front of him.

Both had their busters aimed at him and a jarring smile to their faces. Zero growled and reached for his back, a whisper urging him on with but a single word echoed without an end in sight.

" _Destroy..."_

" _Destroy..."_

" _DESTROY..."_

Only via a sudden flicker of the Hunter's conscience did he snap out of this bizarre trance and return to reality with a brief and frightened look in his eyes. The Reploids stared at him, unable to fathom why he was freaking out. Before his fellow Hunters said a word, Zero composed himself and crossed his arms before stating, "I'm fine. You two should get back to work."

"R-Right...?" The two Reploids stared at each other for a moment while one remarked on the situation with a sluggish hesitation. Then, without another word, the two scurried off to a deeper part of the HQ. Zero saw them off and then turned towards the southern part of the hall, letting out a drawn-out sigh before resting a hand against the side of his head.

" _Every time I go out...It gets worse...What's going on...? Why does my body feel so...off?"_ All Zero could do was question things in his mind. Bringing his concerns up with either X or Alia would only distract them from the current problem. Trying to relax, Zero strolled his way into the command center to greet his allies, who were gathered at Alia's computer. At the moment, it appeared that Alex was explaining some things to them.

"...And that's what happened with Skiver." Or rather, he was done, as he crossed his arms with a sense of finality to his words. Alia then had a perturbed look in her eyes and began to tap away on the keyboard beside her while looking towards the sky.

"So it wasn't bad enough he was infected by the Sigma Virus, Skiver was also being possessed by an evil energy?"

"I'd say the virus took precedence over the energy," Alex remarked then closed his eyes for a bit, "But it doesn't matter. Zero got lucky...Skiver could have easily overwhelmed him."

"We're equipped to deal with these kinds of situations," Zero injected himself right into the conversation, tossing X the sliced off hand before turning towards Alex to say, "It doesn't matter how much stronger the Mavericks get. We'll always find a way to overcome them."

"Well you better hope so," Alex leaned his head back and tucked one hand into his pockets, gesturing the other out before finishing, "Cause it's only going to get rougher from here on out."

Zero crossed his arms and looked at the boy for a bit, then turned to Alia and said, "If you need me, I'll be in my pod getting a quick tune-up."

"Alright. Don't push yourself too hard, Zero." Alia acknowledged Zero's departure with a short and mildly concerned remark. As he left the room, X saw him off with a curious glare. As always, he could see right through his friend's behavior, and knew that something was off about him.

But at the moment, X knew naught how to pursue his concerns, and thus after a brief sigh he chose to focus on the mission. He turned around to look at Alia, who had already sensed X's change in focus and popped up the map of the remaining shuttle parts.

"Now that Zero's gotten us the Orbiter Wing, there's three parts left to go."

"I wanna take a crack at the next part!" Shina thrust her helpful nature right into the forefront of the conversation, in doing so drawing out Alex's tired glare towards her general direction.

"You got to have your 'fun', Shina. Just let me and X handle the rest." He put as bluntly as he physically could.

"Uh-uh! You got to fight Dynamo while I was holed up in a capsule having my body tickled by a buncha scanners! I'm taking the next mission and I won't take 'no' for an answer!"

"No." Alex spoke right away. Then, the two locked themselves into a flawless staring contest for a good few seconds until Alex draped his eyelids closed and shook his head, brusing a dismissive hand towards Shina before facing Alia.

"Forget it. If you want to get infected, then don't come crying to me later..." Alex rolled his eyes with a gruff whisper to his voice, proceeding to ask Alia, "Just input some coordinates and let her go."

"...Well, I **do** need a location first." Alia remarked with biting wit as she turned to face the laptop and hovered her fingers over the keys.

"I'd like to go to Sudan. Cause it starts with 'S', like Shina!"

"...I think I've finally run out of responses to your shenanigans..." Alex grumbled under a bated breath, shaking his head a little afterwards.

"Alright, I'll put them right in. Head off whenever you're ready." Alia typed away with her fingers in a blur, and with a sharp nod of the head and a perky smile Shina spun around and threw her arms before the chest before sprinting off to the teleporter room. Slapping down on the Gunslinger Drive, Shina transformed the moment she was sent off.

The teleporter brought her down onto the middle of a sleek glass walkway with railings made out of lasers. The area was bright but in a more nocturnal manner, as though graced by the light of the moon. The atmosphere of this area embraced the nocturnal light with an ebony backdrop and the sapphire twinkles of stars and miniature galaxies.

"Hrrmm..." Shina observed the sights for a little bit, reacting with nothing more than a flaccid hum.

" _I take it the planetarium doesn't interest you?"_ Alia remarked, and after a brief flinch Shina shook her head and held her pistols up beside her head.

"No no no. I like planetariums a lot! It's just...I've gotten so used to flying through space the atmosphere feels so..."

" _Redundant?"_

"Yeah! Redundant!" Shina clicked her tongue and somehow snapped her right fingers together.

" _Well, this planetarium's pretty different from the rest. It's also a space laboratory...Well, it was. Once upon a time anyways."_

"What happened?" Shina's ears perked with far, far more interest than the platenarium could ever hope to grab.

" _From what I heard the place was abandoned a few years back. No casualties or anything either, the people running this place just decided to cut their losses and bail."_

"Or maybe they were haaaaaunted...By a spaaaaaace ghooooost." Shina was really getting into her attempt to mimic the moans of a phantom, smiling all the while.

" _Ghosts are just a myth...Though it could be possible for a Maverick to mimic the appearance of a ghost, if given the proper technology."_ Only a brilliant navigator like Alia could justify supernatural phenomenon with science. However, said explanation was like a needle to Shina's ballooning enthusiasm, and her expression deflated into a bored slump in just two seconds.

"Awww, forget about it. So I'm looking for a Fuel Tank, right?"

" _Yes. The planetarium is still up and running, so I imagine the lab is too. Just be careful, alright?"_

"Okie-dokie!" Shina spun her pistols around and dashed on ahead across the seemingly endless walkway. There was plenty of 'space' to look at, but the sights were in no way a distraction. There didn't even appear to be any Mavericks stationed in this place to keep guard over it.

After a minute of dashing, Shina noticed the scenery began to change, as some of the stars aligned together and formed sparkling pearl white visages of constellations. A crab, a centaur with a bow-and-arrow, and a bull were just a few of them that appeared.

"Oh cool! This is different!" The constellations held enough of an allure to them that Shina's once scurrying feet stopped on the spot, taking a chance to identify all the constellations she could, pointing at each one with her pistols.

"Cancer's over there...Taurus, definitely Taurus! Oh cool, Pisces! That one's my Zodiac sign!"

" _Wait! I'm detecting the presence of enemies amongst those constellations!"_ Alia's alert was sharp and sudden, piercing Shina's eardrums deep enough to break even her focus. With a couple blinks she watched as the constellations flickered off and was absorbed into the darkness of many shadows. The shadows manifested themselves as a swarm of bomb carrying square-jawed bats with hollow red eyes, all of them filling the empty air with a feral shriek as they flew straight towards Shina.

"So, the stars in the sky are our enemies, huh?" Shina crossed her guns before her face and cracked a grin as she turned them both into assault rifles.

"Bummer, I was really enjoy the scenery!" She then leapt forward and rolled underneath the falling rain of bombs, landing with her body turned around and both rifles thrust out at her sides. At the same time she pulled on the triggers the bombs went off around her, though the flames were brushed away by the wind she kicked up from twirling around a moment later. A spiral of aura mixed amongst the caressing flames kept itself to the middle of the walkway, with hundreds of bullets firing out and piercing through the swarm of bats as though they were more delicate than leaves.

When the scrapped corpses of the bats finished crumbling onto the walkway or fell into the endless abyss, Shina slowed down and stumbled back a little from dizziness. Shaking her head to regain focus, she turned around and kept on moving while keeping a much more focused eye on any obstacles.

"Alright, lesson learned...Don't star-gaze in enemy territory or you might be attacked by bats!" She whispered to herself, and by the time she was done with that she had reached the end of the walkway. There was a single hovering platform in front of her, and it appeared to go off to a different location.

" _The laboratory is just on the other side of this chasm. If you take that platform-"_

"Alia I can fly, remember?" Shina interrupted, trying her best not to look down upon Alia's brief flight of forgetfulness.

" _...Oh, right."_ It was rare to see her express being flustered, even with how subtle it was.

"Hehehe!" Shina kicked up off the ground and flew across the chasm, remarking to the navigator in a somewhat teasing but harmless manner, "You're trying really hard to piece together how our powers work, aren't ya?"

" _Well, I wouldn't be a sci-..."_ There was a swift cut-off from communications for a moment, _"...I'm just really curious how they work. Could you at least tell me how your flight works? You don't appear to have any aerodynamic equipment on you."_

"My flight? Hmmmm. Well, you know how a rocket achieves flight?"

" _Heh, I appreciate you keeping things relative to our mission...Yeah, a rocket achieves flight by expelling continuous heat and air from it's jets, pushing it away from the surface."_

"Well, what me and Alex do is kinda similar. Just replace heat and air with pure energy, and jets with the pores in our skin," After saying that, Shina blinked a couple times then whispered to herself, "But...if I'm a Reploid now, then my pores should be sealed up tighter than a jar of jelly."

" _Achieving flight by utilizing the bodies' internal energy in an external matter...Huh, I should try and bring that up to the science division sometime."_ Alia was very invested in the concept that Shina brought to her attention, so much so that she hadn't heard Shina's off-hand remark.

With a hearty giggle, Shina landed on a lone platform that appeared to hold only a glowing white door, and with a pistol placed at her hip she motioned her hand at the door to open it. It slid open with a clean and slick noise, with a slight hint of depressurizing air afterwards. As she entered the pristine and untouched lab, she had an observation to give to Alia, "You don't get out much, do ya Alia?"

" _What do you mean by that?"_

"Sounds like you're always holed up in HQ doing navigator work for X and/or Zero. Don't you...you know? Have any friends outside of work?"

" _There's really no need for me to have a life outside of the office. Mavericks are enough of a problem to warrant me being here 24/7."_

"But...Mavericks shouldn't be threatening the world 24/7," Shina was a little saddened by how focused Alia was, even though she did somewhat understand her mentality, "And besides, ya gotta get some fresh air every now and then or your joints'll be as stiff as wood."

" _I...guess?"_ Alia didn't know quite how to respond, but at least Shina could tell that she was taking her advice into consideration and that was satisfying enough. Paying attention to the lab again, she found that things were much brighter inside, most likely due to the compacted hall. Instead of displaying a menagerie of stars and galaxies, the backdrop focused more on imitating a satellite examining a singular galaxy, complete with various information that Shina soon lost interest in looking at.

Instead, she focused on a pair of holographic arrows projected in such a way that both of their ends were connected in the middle, with one pointing up and the other one down.

"Hey what's that?" Shina sprinted up to the devices and almost prodded them with the barrel of one of her guns before Alia commented on them.

" _I've heard about this before. It must be a prototype gravity reversal device. With this you'll be able to-"_

Shina raised her brows slowly and then forced out a dry cough, causing Alia to sigh and remark, _"Right, you can fly. Still, don't go too fast through the devices, you might get dizzy."_

"Thanks for the heads-up!" Shina then kicked off the ground and took flight into the arrows, which had a somewhat solid form. Her perception of the colors in the room inverted for a brief second before she found her body flipped topsy-turvy, her head getting a little frazzled from the sudden shift in position.

With a gentle turnaround she kept flying forward, keeping her guns locked forward in order to shoot down any bats that got in her way. Along the way she was kept occupied by Alia, who had her own curiosity that she still needed to satiate, _"I hope you don't mind me asking, but...Alex said you've been on this mission for almost a year and a half. What are you going to do once you're done?"_

"When I'm...done?" Despite how heavy a question that was, Shina smiled and provided a rather light answer to it, "Hehehe, as fun as it's been traveling the universe and meeting other people...I'll be content with just lounging around with my little sister until we're both grey and wrinkled."

" _And what about Alex?"_

"Huh? Oh...ummm, I don't know what he'll do when this is all said and done. He's not really the 'deep and personal' kinda guy, ya know?"

" _You two_ _ **aren't**_ _from the same world?"_

"...Ummm...M-Maybe?" Alia had gotten Shina tongue-tied and a little embarrassed, a feeling she shook off before giving a more coherent response, "You'd be better off asking him...somehow."

" _I'm standing_ _ **right**_ _here, Shina."_ Alex remarked over the comms, coming off rather offended as he spoke, _"Now will you two quit bawking like hens and stay focused?!"_

Alex storming off could be heard even through the muffled filter in the communicator, his level of anger anchoring itself in Shina's mind and leaving her with a sour pout. After a few seconds passed, Alia remarked, _"...I get what you're saying."_

"Y-Yeah..." She murmured with slight embarrassment. Though it was not directed towards Alex, but rather herself.

" _Alex...what_ _ **are**_ _you going to do when we're done? And why...why do I get the feeling I don't want to know?"_ And thus, she could feel the distance between them growing further and further, like she was still riding a train and he was stuck on a cart detached long, long ago.

"Mmmrr..." Shina closed her eyes and shook her head a couple times, wanting to get rid of these distracting thoughts. However, she could not do so alone, and it took Alia's help to get her back on track.

" _Shina, I think I'm detecting another Dr. Light capsule down below."_

"H-Huh?" Shina fluttered her eyelashes and looked down, seeing both a doorway forward and a passage downward, "Right! I'll check it out!"

She forced herself to perk up and dove straight down into the chasm, the venom of the prior train of thought disappearing into the past without a trace. With a quick spin around, Shina found a wall with a tiny passage at the bottom. She kneeled down and leaned her upper body forward, peering into the hole with one eye to find a diagonal mirror that was aimed upward at another mirror.

"Looks like I need to bounce a laser off this." She murmured with a curling of her bottom lip upward. Then, without giving it much more thought, she stretched her body out across the floor and planted her elbows down, creating a laser rifle that she grasped in both hands. When her feet touched the wall behind her, she raised her rear up and tucked her knees inward, giving her butt a quick shake as she lined up the barrel of the rifle with the mirror.

" _I-Is that really necessary?!"_ Alex suddenly spurted out in a huff, though Alia made sure to brush him aside the moment he spoke so Shina could concentrate. The girl hummed to herself for a bit then clicked the trigger, shooting a laser no bigger than a pinky. The laser bounced off every mirror in the winding maze and collided with a bomb.

However, Shina might have gotten just a LITTLE too close to the structure, as the explosion was powerful enough to destroy the whole thing and strike her in the face, recoiling her entire body back into the wall. The back of her head thumped against the cold steel and rattled her mind, leaving her dizzy as she stumbled back onto her feet.

After shaking off the explosion, Shina looked ahead and saw the Dr. Light capsule was still intact. She walked up and activated it with her mere presence, and like clockwork the hologram of the prestigious doctor made it's presence known.

"Howdy doc! How're things going?"

" _It hasn't been that long since we last spoke, Ms. Aurora."_ Dr. Light remarked with a humored smile and chuckle.

"Just being courteous!" She responded in a cheerful haste before popping her eyes open, "Oh! Before I grab the Gaea Armor part for X, there's something I wanted to ask...How are you a sentient hologram?"

" _Hmmm...It's really not that difficult to explain. I simply transferred my brain wave patterns into these capsules."_ Dr. Light responded while nestling a hand into his beard to rub the chin.

"That's all there is to it?" Shina remarked with a disappointed pucker of the lips.

" _Yes, I'm afraid so."_ Dr. Light let her down easy with his apology, and she just ended up letting out a saddened sigh before shrugging her shoulders.

"Oh well! That's still kinda cool!" Shina then hopped right into the capsule, giving Dr. Light's hologram only a second to disappear before she passed through. The cycle of accepting the data went by in a flash, and she hopped out of the capsule while turning around to face the reappearing hologram.

" _So, still no sign of that artifact you're looking for?"_ Dr. Light inquired.

"Not yet. But I'm not giving up hope. I know we're getting close to it!"

" _Yes. Never give up hope. For hope is the key to everlasting peace...That, and an understanding towards others."_

"Yeah...Yeah, you're right. Hope's what's gotten me this far, and it'll carry me through to the end!" Shina cracked a smile and then turned around, waving a pistol up and parting with a cheerful, "Thanks doc! See ya later!"

The hologram nodded and then sealed the capsule shut, with Shina rocketing up back to the door and heading on through it. After a brief trip down a hall, she ended up in a room overlooking rows and rows of fuel tanks, all of which were at least five times larger than her.

" _There's a lot more fuel tanks than I was expecting."_ Alia commented.

"And they're all intact to boot! Any particular one ya want me to pick up?"

" _Leave the pick up to me. Now that you've confirmed their location, I can teleport them over to the shuttle site immediately."_

"Awesome. Then I guess I'll just-" Shina turned around, but was spooked by the sudden appearance of a Reploid in front of her.

"Eeek!" She squealed while leaping back to the edge of the platform overlooking the fuel tanks. She raised her pistols up, pointing them at the upside-down hanging Reploid. They were suspended in mid-air without a physical object in the grasp, and their body was covered up by the violet drape of a pair of bat wings. Their head also was shaped like a bat's, with two giant ears made of glass yellow lights of sorts. Their mouth was made up of a tiny square vent with a fang on each side, and their right eye was protected by a glued on monocle.

"Squeak! Just who... _are you_?" The Reploid spoke with a high-pitched, rattled voice before spinning themselves upright and spreading their wings wide open, revealing a fanged "Sigma" symbol on their belt. Shina had no reason whatsoever to avoid thrusting her pistols towards the Reploids' face at that point. In turn, the Reploid let out a raspy hiss.

"Sssssqueak! An enemy are you?! Maverick Hunter...Or one of Sigma's?!" The Reploid inched itself closer to Shina with it's lone eye bulging outward. Shina fired a warning shot below their feet, but they reacted with only a slight pause and glance downward.

" _One of Sigma's lackeys? What are they doing all the way out here?!"_

"Squeak?! What am I doing here?!" The Reploid respond with a maddening offense to them, all of a sudden gliding forward and placing themselves just an inch behind Shina with their hands laid out atop her shoulders. He then pulled himself in and bore into Shina's nervous expression with a bulging glare.

"What are _you_ doing here? Mmmmmm? MMMMM?!"

Shina whipped her pistol back and tried to shoot the Reploid in the face, but he parted ways as nimbly as a fly and returned to where they were before. Shina's 'heart' was now pumping fast inside her chest, a sensation born of fear and anger at the Reploid's gall.

The Reploid brushed his right hand out in the air and fluttered both wings, proclaiming with an irrefutable annoyance, "Lackey...Lackey...! I, Dark Dizzy, SPIT at the mere mention of the word!"

"You're not fooling anyone ya know. We can see your Sigma emblem."

"Feh! A stain upon my name! He may have created me, but he will not control me! I deny his rebellion, as do I deny any and all of you Maverick HUNTERS!" Dark Dizzy spat out in utter disgust.

" _A creation of Sigma's? He must have forced the X-Hunters or Doppler to create him and other Mavericks back when they were under his control."_

"Squeak! Yes, but unlike Split Mushroom and Crystal Snail...I REFUSED to serve under that feckless tyrant!" Dark Dizzy crossed his arms and swelled up with pride towards his individuality.

"Squeeeaaaak! I, Dark Dizzy, escaped from his laboratory and sought solitude in this one. After I frightened the humans away, I've nested here ever since! Here I, Dark Dizzy, shall bide my time until such a point where both Mavericks and Maverick Hunters destroy themselves entirely! Then, from their ashes...My reign shall begin!"

In the face of his proud proclamation, Shina's fear subsided with a puffy cheeked snicker, to which Dark Dizzy grimaced and then stared down at the girl.

"Squeak! You laugh now, but your world shall burn!"

" _For all his talk, this Maverick's got a lot in common with Sigma."_

"Like father like son, as they say." Shina finished snickering and waved her guns up at the Reploid, who tightened his fists together and spread his wings wide, his eye flaring up with a red light as the dark violet aura erupted around his body.

"Squeak! Mock me will you? My conquest shall begin with your withered husk as a stepping stone!" Dark Dizzy thrust his palms out together and unleashed three rings of sonic sound. Shina leapt forward and spun around, unloading twenty bullets from her pistols as she passed through the rings. Dark Dizzy took them on without needing to guard in the slightest, then swooped back as Shina landed on the ground and rolled into an upright stance.

The Maverick dove down and grabbed Shina by the shoulders, this time using his fanged toes for support. He flew up a bit then flicked his legs forward, throwing her skyward once he was halfway at the ceiling. Her head bonked up against it and bounced her body down, and with a quiver of the fangs Dark Dizzy expressed great anticipation, " I wonder how you will _taste_..."

He lunged after her ready to chomp the tips of his fangs into her skin, only to be met with a weapon barrel equal to the size of his head. Shina winked and pulled the trigger of her rocket launcher, hitting Dark Dizzy with a point-blank explosion that blew him back onto the platform. The burst propelled her on top of the fuel tanks, which she took a second to look at and realize how harrowing it was to be there.

Dark Dizzy landed and pinched two fingers near it's mouth, letting out a shrill whistle that summoned a small swarm of bat Reploids, each one carrying a bomb. Dark Dizzy then gestured a pointer finger at Shina and exclaimed, "Squeak! Fry the intruder to bits!"

The bats flew off without a second's hesitation, even though they were performing the equivalent of a suicide bombing. Shina widened her eyes and swung both her hands down before her right hip, grasping the weapons together and fusing them into a missile launcher that fired finger sized ammunition. She thrust it up before her body while placing the scouter before her right eye with a thought.

" _Hurry up or that whole building will go down in flames!"_ Alia urged in a panic.

Shina's eyes stretched out to show the intensity of her focus as she locked onto each and every bomb the bats had. Before they could drop even one, she pulled the thick trigger of her weapon and unleashed a wide spread of aura missiles across the air, making certain that they wouldn't divert their paths and graze the tops of the fuel tanks. In doing so, she manages to avoid setting them off with the ensuing explosions from the bombs as they strike them high enough up in the air.

Shina breathed a momentary sigh and parted her missile launcher into two rifles, but she would only get that second to catch her breath as Dark Dizzy punctured through the lingering smoke faster than a rocket jet and tried to slam her down with both his fists. She leapt back with her body tensing up, then flicked her right arm out and held down the trigger of her weapon to unleashed an onslaught of bullets upon her target.

Dark Dizzy tucked his wings in and absorbed every bullet, spreading them out before launching himself off the small crater formed in the fuel tank from his punches. He thrust his palms out twice to send sound waves out ahead of him, striking Shina and causing her body to freeze up and quiver while he closed the remaining distance in an instant.

He tried to bite down on her again through the neck, but she responded by blocking his fangs with a one-inch layer of aura around it. Then, she spun her left rifle around while transforming it into a pistol, planting the barrel square into the side of her foe's ear. She pulled the trigger right as he wrenched himself free, the bullet chipping off the tip of his left fang and setting him off in a rage.

"Squeak! How dare you!" Dark Dizzy went back in with a solid ram of his forehead into Shina's own, denting her skin and forcing her eyes shut for a moment. The Maverick then planted both it's palms into Shina's chest and let loose a rupturous blast of sound that blew her into the very back of the room twenty feet away.

She rebounded off it and leaned her head forward, giving it a quick rattle before looking ahead to see Dark Dizzy go on the offensive once more. His charge was relentless but precise, and were it not for the aura guiding her reflexes Shina may not have been able to keep on evading the attacks.

She spun around his body and let him plow his fist through the carbon wall, taking advantage of his perilous state of being to blast him in the back with two shotguns. With his body punctured through with a spray of bullet shells, the Maverick ripped his fist free and spun around, smacking Shina away with one wing extended out.

Then he swung both his hands up and exclaimed, "DARK HOLD!"

Shina and the world around her froze up in an instant, with the colors washing out into a horrible inverted glow. Dark Dizzy then panted as he flew around the girl, throwing his hands out to surround her with a sphere of sound waves. Then he returned to his original spot and brushed the top of his hand along the bottom of his chin before time resumed and the sound waves converged on Shina's location.

The whole room vibrated violently upon impact, but luckily not enough to break the glass windows on the fuel tanks. Dark Dizzy could stand the cacophony of sound, and in fact relished in it as he swung his left hand up along his chest and proclaimed, "Squeak! You got what you deserved!"

But as the vibrations subsided, the Maverick's eye popped open as he saw that Shina was still intact, with the shattered petals of aura falling to the ground as she held her hands up to her ears.

"Ow ow ow! I'm gonna have a migraine for weeks!" She was in genuine pain, and the sound affected her ears to the point that she didn't even hear herself speak. Nevertheless, she shook her head and looked up at Dark Dizzy, who clenched his left fist tight enough to dig into his body.

"Squeak! You're getting on my last nerves! Go away!"

Dark Dizzy swung his hands up again, but as his mouth began to move Shina quickly whipped a cone barrel weapon up and pulled the trigger to surround the Maverick with a thick bubble of aura.

"DARK HOLD!" The Maverick froze time again, but this time things would be different. He tried to move, but ended up ramming into the bubble head first. Shaking off the impact, he rammed left then right, followed by growling bitterly and trying to destroy the aura with a sound wave. But the sound bounced off and smacked him in the face, frying his vision for a couple seconds. Then time resumed, and he was met with Shina putting on a smirk for him.

"Stopping time's pretty neato, but it's not if **you** can't go anywhere!" Shina pulled back and tightened her pull on the trigger, filling the barrel of the weapon with bright aura. Dark Dizzy shook his head and waved his hands out, his face clearly fraught with fright.

"W-Wait a second...Squeak! We can work-" He was blasted apart by a self-contained bomb of aura, which shattered the bubble that contained him and threw his parts across the room. Shina then twirled her guns around and placed them at the hips, pretending to hop so she can catch the Maverick's head out of the air.

She gave it a flip and cupped the head in her palms, flashing a triumphant smile before deciding to contact Alia, "Mission complete! You can take the fuel tanks anytime ya want!"

" _...I'd love to, but you're going to have to wait a bit."_

"Huh? What's up?" Shina fluttered her eyelashes a few times in bewilderment.

" _I don't know why, but Alex suddenly demanded I input the coordinates to Kenya so he could go after another part. He overloaded the energy going through the teleporters, so I have to wait on someone to come and perform repairs."_

"He did that?" Shina could hardly believe it. Even for Alex, that behavior didn't sound like him in the slightest. Puckering her lips with unease, she gazed solemnly towards the ceiling and murmured, "Alex...what's going on?"

 _Next Time: Inferno Heart_


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: The Infernal Destroyer, Mattrex**

 _A few minutes ago, at the Maverick Hunter HQ..._

Alex was standing around in the command center with X and Alia, watching Shina's activities through the navigator's perfectly visible laptop. He didn't have anything to say on the matter the entire time she was in the planetarium, preferring instead to stay in his usual subdued posture of contemplation.

Then, Alia had the utter GALL to start asking Shina questions about what she was going to do when her journey was over. At that moment, Alex's "peace" was disturbed with what was meant to be little more than a harmless four word inquiry.

"And what about Alex?"

With that, Alia had inadvertently ensnared Shina in a trap of sorts, forcing the girl to respond in a manner that would not go down well with Alex regardless of what answer she chose. It was both sad and yet hardly surprising when Shina went down the most oblivious route possible and answered, _"I don't know what he'll do when this is all said and done. He's not really the 'deep and personal' kinda guy, ya know?"_

The boy parted his crossed arms and laid one hand in his pocket, letting loose an almost lion-like growl as he stared daggers into the monitor. More than likely due to Reploids' having no nerves to speak of, Alia did not sense Alex's hostility in the slightest and continued to badger Shina further about the subject. Shina could have salvaged herself from the grave she had begun to dig, it wasn't that hard of a task really...

But alas, she took it upon herself to replace the shovel in her hands with a massive drill, and continued to plow a grave deeper and darker than should really have been necessary.

" _You'd be better off asking him...somehow."_

Such evasive disregard for the subject, combined with a blatant lack of thought put into Alex's feelings towards it, set the boy off in a steaming huff. He rushed up beside Alia's chair and kept staring into the screen with a stronger glare than before, hoping to penetrate the distance between the two of them to no avail. He curled his lips into a scowl and declared to grab her attention, "I'm standing **right** here, Shina."

When the girl could be seen flinching, Alex crossed his arms and furrowed his brows downward, letting out a second-long growl before twisting his glare towards Alia for a moment. He then swung his arms out and proclaimed, "Now will you two quit bawking like hens and stay focused?!"

He slammed the door shut on any further conversation from the two and turned around, storming off with steps that sent light tremors through the command center. He only stopped once at the center of the room, crossing his arms back up and rippling his lips into scowl while grumbling.

Shina's choice of words left Alex's chest clenching up in a tight, iron vice, the pain he experienced like an inferno that raged far worse than any sun. Disappointment, rage, and sadness, those were the emotions that guided the venomous words in Alex's mind to his mouth.

"So that's how she feels huh...?" His tone was a whisper of lunacy, as he then proceeded to crack a dry smirk and go, "Hmph! To hell with what she thinks! I poured my heart out to her, and she...she...!"

" _Has the nerve to throw it all back in your face without a care?"_ A voice similar to Alex's own echoed in his mind, carrying with it a sultry, devilish tone that was strangely full of empathy towards the boy's frustrated plight. Alex, however, did not have anything nice to say to that voice.

"Shut. UP. I don't need you!" He growled out with a tense glare upward.

" _Why the constant hostility? I've always been here for you...Ever since you wished for the pain to go away all those years ago, I've been ready to relieve you of it forever."_

"I wish you'd go away..." Alex said with a tired, almost defeated slump of the body.

" _If that's all it took to be rid of me, then we both know I'd be gone by now...But you_ _ **do**_ _need me, you_ _ **DO**_ _want me._ _ **We**_ _...are one and the same."_

Alex's body went cold for a moment, as though he was being embraced by a spectre, while the voice in his head continued to speak, _"She may have hurt us...But I never will. So why don't you stop wasting our time, and let me get rid of those who have caused us this pain..."_

"You'll NEVER lay a hand on Shina." Alex shook his shoulders to remove the sensation with gruff defiance.

" _...The closer you hold someone to your heart, the easier it'll be for them to tear it out. Whenever you are done suffering this pain, remember...I'll always be here for us."_

The voice subsided into silence, leaving Alex worse off than he was before. He gestured his head around a little and grumbled, his body hardly able to keep itself still as he began to tap his right toes on the ground and crossed and uncrossed his arms multiple times in a row.

"Damn it...damnitdamnitdamnit!"

Torment boiled within Alex's body like a volcano about to erupt as he began to recognize how pointless the last year or so of his life may end up being. His efforts will lead to a tyrant being overthrown, certainly, but what was left for him after that? Shina will return home to her family and live a life of peaceful bliss...While all he gets is a return to a life of cold, empty solitude.

But he didn't want that. He simply **could not** accept that as a 'reward' after everything he's gone through. All the mountains he periled, the chasms he crossed, and the hurtles he overcame...All for the chance to grasp the happiness that had long since eluded him. But his desires, his wants, and his needs were immaterial in the eyes of the universe, and no matter hard he wanted that to change he could not force something as immeasurible a force as the whims of fate to yield to him.

Nor, either, would he force Shina to yield. Even after she had rejected his love, he respected her too much to even consider that option. Instead, he forced himself to accept the situation for what it was, and decided there was just one option available to him now.

"...Fine, if she's in such a hurry to get home...!" He spun around and dashed right for Alia, grabbing the back of her chair and jerking it around so she'd get a good look at him. Her face contorted into surprise while grabbed onto the lip of her desk to stop moving, upon which she stared up at Alex and proclaimed, "W-What are you-?!"

"You guys want to destroy Eurasia sooner? Then input the coordinates to the shuttle part in Kenya and I'll go get it." Alex held firm onto the chair and glared into Alia's eyes to project how serious he was. X stayed cautiously aside, noticing that something was off about Alex's behavior.

Alia shook her head once then reminded the boy, "We can't send another person out until the power-"

"Don't give me that tripe! The teleporter can handle one more transport. Now, _input the coordinates..._!" Alex's grit his teeth together and growled the last bit of his demands through them.

"H-Hang on a second..." X approached Alex and tried to put a hand on his shoulder to calm him down, but the boy brushed him off with a sharp shove back. Before the situation escalated, Alia turned herself back towards the laptop and shifted focus away from Shina's fight with Dark Dizzy to place the coordinates in.

"Fine, fine. I guess it's worth trying..." When she tapped the final number down, she twisted her head back and met Alex's glare with one that left him placated for a moment, "But if the system goes down, then you better hope we can get it back online or we're all screwed."

"Don't get your britches in a bunch, we'll be fine." Alex brushed the matter off with nonchalance as he turned around and made his way for the door. Sensing X's stare locked firmly onto his back, Alex glanced over his left shoulder for just a moment. The Hunter looked as though he wanted to say something, but just like the boy he stayed silent and allowed things to play out. Alex exited the room and went for the teleporter.

With JUST enough power left in it's systems, the teleporter sent Alex off to his destination. He landed in the center of a mechanical silo, whose circumference was defined by a mixture of volcanic rock and silver-red metal. The heat was sweltering, and Alex was surprised by how fast he had to use his powers to protect his body from the temperature.

After he had converted the scorching air around him into a mid-summer's breeze, Alex began to make his way down the ledges of the silo before Alia could even get in contact with him, _"Well, turns out I was right. Thanks to this little overexertion the teleporters are down. If there's any good news, at least the whole building didn't get fried in the process."_

"Great, so it'll be easy to get them back up and running." As the boy went deeper in, he drew his sword to cut down the small turret-like Reploids patrolling the area, even the ones that were not in his line of sight.

" _We're LUCKY it will take only a little effort to fix it! Don't ever try that kind of stunt again."_ Her rage was understandable, but Alex would not pay heed to it as he reached the bottom of the silo. At the bottom, most traces of metal were buried amongst seething lava rock, and the air heated up to the point of becoming blurred.

"What's with this place? The temperature in here is ridiculous..." Alex commented to himself as he continued to adjust his body to handle the increase in heat.

" _The area you are in is connected to a volcano. I've heard rumors that illegal weapons have been produced here using the energy made by magma."_

"A volcano? Yeah, that'd make sense but..." Alex looked around him. The lava rocks were glowing bright-orange, and the level of heat in this area was almost blinding. With just a mere tap of the foot on the ground, the boy could tell that there were tremors in the volcano up ahead, meaning it may be on the verge of going active.

" _Something's not right."_ He thought to himself. He had never known the 'pleasure' of entering a volcano before, but it didn't take much thinking to understand that his powers should make the smoldering temperatures of one a neglible issue. And yet, even he was having trouble keeping the endless tidal wave of heat at bay.

" _I know you think you can brave the elements, but be careful-"_

"Alia, I don't need **you** badgering me on what to do. Just shut up and wait for me to give the signal to teleport back." Alex was still taking offense to her earlier inquires, but now she herself was not in the mood to give in to his demands.

" _ **No**_ _. It is my job as a navigator to see your mission through to the end. So you're just going to have to deal with me whether you like it or not."_

"Mrghhfrrggh... _Fine_. Just tell me the fastest route to the shuttle part and I'll blaze a path through this stupid volcano."

" _Go on ahead and you'll find a passage that'll take you further into the volcano. But be careful, I imagine the-"_ Alia bit her tongue partway through and then instead murmured out, _"Actually, forget it. You can probably handle the dangers up ahead just fine."_

"Thank you." Alex was both sincere and relieved at her sealing those chatty lips up tight and letting him be for the next stretch of the road. Running forward, he leapt down the gap in the floor and ended up deeper in the volcano. Now his feet began to sizzle until he coated the bottoms of his shoes in lava rock, and he turned his head to find a sea of lava churning down below.

The lava was tumultuous, as though swept up in the midst of a violent hurricane. Some of it splashed up dozens of feet into the air when getting in contact with the walls and craggy pillars, and Alex had to take a couple steps back to avoid being pestered by the mere molecules of lava that may dare to graze his skin. Unable to shake off the ominous feeling that plagued the volcano, Alex was caught off-guard when a raging inferno of lava gushed through the tunnel he was in and dragged him into a small metallic protrusion.

His right arm cracked as the weight of the rest of his body pressed against it, the lava bearing down on his body like it was nothing more than a can in a trash compactor. Quickly gritting his teeth and slamming his left hand against the wall, he pushed against the pressure even as fighting it strained his back. The wave of lava subsided by the time he was off, and the boy threw his body into a panting hunch forward while taking the occasional moment to gasp for air.

" _What the hell is going on here...?!"_ Alex was having a very difficult time believing that it was an inexperience with volcanoes that was screwing him up here. Something or **someone** was affecting the volcano, which could only mean one thing...

" _Is the artifact piece...in this volcano?"_ Deducing that from the evidence given seemed so right in Alex's mind that his body eased up in a matter of seconds. He clenched his hands into fists and then vaulted over the protrusion he had once been pinned to. Then, he kicked off the edge of it and flew on ahead, even as another torrent of lava pursued him from behind.

He zipped forward like a rocket, shattering through any obstacles in his path with little resistance until he broke through a golden door like it was no thicker than rice paper. Once there the lava was of no consequence, as only a fragment of it slipped through the person-sized door. Alex then landed on the ground and slid forward until he was at the edge of a path overlooking a lake of stagnant lava.

At this point the machinery seemed to have disappeared, replaced with the natural land masses that composed the volcano. Yet here the tremors were worsening, and the lava rocks were dislodging themselves from the ceiling and splashing into the sea below. Alex edged away from the lava and received a somewhat panicked warning from Alia.

" _I'm sensing some heavy seismic activity in the area. Could it be that the volcano...?!"_

"If it's going to erupt then I don't have much time," Alex kept his cool, for only he knew the truth of what was going on in this area, "How much further do I have to go?"

" _If you think your body can handle the lava, a quick swim in that sea will get you to your destination."_ She suggested without a moment's wait.

"Yeah, I can do it." The boy said with a firm nod of confidence, and after coating his body in a thick bubble of air to divert the flow of lava he threw his body forward with arms extended out and dove right into the lava as though it was nothing more than a kiddie pool. He paddled his legs and feet and swung his arms around and around, breezing through the sea of lava with a speed that would make even Olympists blush.

Then, at the end of the lake he breeched through to the surface like a dolphin and performed a quick flip to land on a craggy perch next to it. He let the air loose from around his body and gave himself a quick shake just to be sure, then after readjusting his vision from exposure to the seething lava he noticed that he had ended up right in front of a Dr. Light capsule.

Considering he had no intention of sticking around in the world once the artifact piece was acquired, Alex at first hesitated to approach the capsule. He shifted his body away from it and bit his lower lip, raising a hand up as though ready to debate with himself the merits of getting the armor part for X. Leaving his pointer finger limp before his palm, he growled and then swung back around, his feet picking themselves up with the weight of solid concrete as he lugged himself over to the capsule.

The capsule opened up, and Dr. Light's hologram appeared as per usual. The boy gestured his right hand out and said, "I'm not in the mood to talk doc. Just let me get the armor part and I'll be on my way."

" _A-Alright?"_ Dr. Light stuttered while responding with a confused but polite flutter of his eyelids. He then disappeared for a moment so Alex could step on the platform. The data flow went through without a hitch, and the boy jumped off with hands tucked in his pockets as he prepared to leave. However, Dr. Light's hologram reappeared with a stern glare towards the boy and a few crucial, parting words.

" _Recklessness can lead to helplessness...Do not make any mistake you'll never have a chance to regret, Alex."_

The capsule sealed itself shut a second later, with Alex standing still on the edge of the platform. After a subdued growl the boy kicked himself off the ground and performed a quick flip around and above to reach a higher ledge. The usual metallic door that'd be there had been melted down into a still liquidified puddle, with the surface of it bubbling out a lethal dose of carbon monixide. The tunnel up ahead burned hotter than a microwave chamber, and one touch of it by a regular Reploid would leave them to the same fate as the door.

The rocks hissed with steam, and the tremors in the volcano grew worse and worse. If there wasn't already a hell on Earth, this place would surely suffice. Even with this boiling cauldron staring him down, Alex tucked his fists beside his hips and treaded onward. Only halfway into the tunnel did a crackle and pop come from the boy's right ear. The communicator was fried, the last thing he heard being a broken up and muffled warning from Alia.

The second door along the path was worse off than the last, being so seething bright that it was comparable to magma. The compact room beyond was white hot, making it any wonder how the whole place hadn't collapsed into a molten heap. Alex didn't touch anything beyond the floor as he hopped off the ledge and landed on the ground. Through the humid fog that left not even a milimeter of air untouched, a deep-throated, primal growl echoed out as a titantic figure prowled into view.

Quakes rocked the foundation of the volcano with every step they took, and the slow, guttural breaths they took forced the hot air into Alex's face and made him squirm. When the monster was halfway through the room, just the mere act of leaning their head forward was enough to cross the remaining distance. The hot air cleared from the presence of a hollow black aura and raging blue flames that surrounded the being.

Then, just like that, Alex was face-to-face with a robot built to look like the mighty tyrannosaurus. His head was small in comparison to the rest of his body, and his stubby arms would never be able to reach it. His mouth was filled with enough fangs to tear a car in two with a single bite, and his hands were adorned with thick and rugged claws that through the foundations of a skyscraper. Along the length of his spine and tail were a series of towering blue flames whose tips lashed against the ceiling and turned the melting stone to blistering steam. And their body was composed of a black and blue metal, with eyes as hollow and white as pure winter snow.

Even with the Reploid hunched over, Alex knew they should not be this big. The black aura was the giveaway that this Reploid, known by the name of Mattrex, had been made the victim of the whims of the one who had long been tormenting Alex and Shina on their journey. Despite having the grandiose appearance of the king of the dinosaurs, Mattrex was once no feral beast. He was proud, perhaps a little too defiant, and yet a perfect fit as a member of Repliforce's disaster prevention team.

Despite being corrupted into this monstrous form, he wore the symbol of Repliforce upon the center of his snout. Of course, history could just as well been different for Mattrex. He may still have been rough around the edges, but had a kind heart towards those in need. Or maybe he had formed a brotherhood with his comrades, and he survived the Repliforce War to forever honor the lives that had been lost. There would be no way of knowing now, for Alex's tiresome war against that enigmatic being had now gotten another innocent being swept up in their fight...

" _Mattrex's sanity is gone...He's nothing more than a feral beast. How many lives will that bastard ruin before they're satisfied?"_ The rage Alex had towards that being could not overcome the pity he directed towards Mattrex with his slumped gaze. Anger was a wasteful emotion now, for the being watching knew how much he had come to hate them. Now, with the being holding the final artifact piece pressing their nostrils a foot away from his face, Alex sealed his emotions tight in his heart and set the air around his body ablaze. He could not match the inferno that wreathed the dino's body, but that was never his intention.

"Mattrex, I will end your suffering." One sentence was all he needed to say to set the Reploid off, as they proceeded to rip their mouth apart to assault the boy with a loud, humid roar. Alex threw his right fist into the bottom of the dinosaur's jaw, bludgeoning it inward and causing Mattrex to retreat with a more pained roar.

The top of it's head carved through the molten rock above and caused it to come cascading down along both sides of his face. Mattrex swung his head forward like wielding a blunt club, then opened his mouth to launch a large blue fireball at the boy. Alex summoned his sword and cut it in half, then sped forward and plunged his sword into the dinosaur's chest. Mattrex reared his head down and jerked his body left to right, picking Alex off from the ground and slamming him against the molten walls.

The ceiling began to cave in, coming down in the form of a thick, white-hot glob. As it wrapped itself like a blanket around Mattrex's body, his violent shakedown managed to throw Alex away with the sword still impaled in his chest. Alex landed back first into the boiling magma and slid through it for only two feet before pushing himself upright, his body riddled with a scathing steam.

Without a second thought he clapped his hands and caused the sword to let loose a burst of electricity that tore through Mattrex's innards and forced the blade free. The boy then galloped along the surface of the fallen magma and plucked his sword from the air in an attempt to slash through the dinosaur. But even with his body riddled with holes, Mattrex swung his lower jaw down with the force of a jackhammer and pounded Alex deeper into the ground.

Then, Mattrex buried his snout into Alex's chest and hoisted him out of the ground, ramming him against what little remained of the ceiling. The magma oozed around the boy's body, and the Reploid's attack left him defenseless for a brief but painful second. He fought back with a scream and a thrust of his hands, lashing out dozens of thick streams of electricity that tore into Mattrex's mammoth-sized body.

Mattrex stumbled back, flames spurting forth from his mouth, while Alex landed on the ground and coiled his fingers into tight fists. He stampeded forward one thunderous step at a time, and the Reploid responded by swinging it's entire body around to try and swat him away with the tail. Alex threw his left fist downward without turning his body even a single degree, smashing the tip of the tail into flying scrap that bounced off the side of his body.

"Enough of these **games**!" He yelled out as Mattrex reared his head forward and lunged it out. The boy threw his right up in a clean hook and cracked the side of the dinosaur's jaw, but he lunged in for another attack. Alex threw another punch to the other side of the face, and the bottom of the jaw started to dislodge itself. Even still, the dinosaur was relentless, and strained it's mouth open with a tremoring roar to go in for a bite. Alex thrust both of his hands into the center of the Reploid's teeth and held him off without budging an inch.

Gritting his teeth down, Alex pushed both sides of Mattrex's jaw apart, causing his whole head to rupture in two when enough pressure was applied.

"The lives you've tormented, the suffering you've caused...THIS ENDS NOW!" Alex held nothing back as he swung his arms up and down upon rendering Mattrex's head worthless, staring deep into the rupturing throat. He leaned back as the weight of the dinosaur began to collapse upon him, then shot forward like a bullet through the Reploid's body, piercing out of the backside covered in magma.

He turned around, in his right hand a curved stone that had somehow managed to survive the ludicrous heat. Once he had ripped this stone free, the black aura vanished from Mattrex's body, but his size and colors did not return to normal. Not that it mattered, seeing how he was now deceased. The rampaging heat cooled down in an instant, and the magma hardened into a thick solid form. It was unnatural, but this whole situation had reeked of unnatural in the first place.

Now, Mattrex's body was buried under the hardened magma, no doubt unaware of his final moments. Alex looked down and pitied the Reploid for just a moment and nothing longer before turning away and landing himself on a crevice that had formed from the magma. He lifted the artifact piece before his face and yet, despite there being a sense of finality to this whole ordeal, nothing about this could bring the boy to smile. After ten seconds of silence, he began to lower his arm to put the stone in his pocket while blinking nice and slow.

As his hand neared the rim of his pocket, one blink was all it took for the environment around Alex to be washed away by a pure, ebony darkness. His eyes fluttered faster while the body stiffened up by a tense unease. He shifted his gaze left then right, finding nothing in sight besides a tiny ring resembling a spotlight at his feet. There was no sound until he took a breath, but the very moment he does another voice spoke out to him.

" _Life is simply unfair, don't you think?"_ Their tone was deep but spoken through a grainy filter, a clear attempt to disguise what their gender was. Alex spun around without a moment's hesitation, finding himself with fifteen feet of a strangely dressed figure. They were garbed in an all-black cloak that stretched to the ground, with a top piece that has short, wide sleeves and a torn bottom. There was a distinct violet butterfly pin on their left shoulder, and a wide brimmed black hat atop their head. Covering their hands were a pair of black opera gloves rolled to the elbows, complete with claw-like fingers grasping onto a red staff. Protecting their identity even further was a traditional plague doctor mask with gold detailing.

" _There are times where a single, solitary snail...can make a whole world go extinct..."_

The person parted their arms with the staff in their right, greeting the boy with the utmost politeness, _"How are you doing...young gastropod?"_

Alex swung his right hand up and summoned his sword, pointing it with a harsh and hostile glare towards the person in front of him, "What the hell do you want now?!"

The person planted their palms on the top of the staff and tapped it onto the ground, standing the poise of a gentleman, _"Is that the proper way to greet someone you haven't spoken to in many months? I see your manners have not improved since our last meeting."_

The staff was lifted and then tapped down once, making a simple ripple appear on the ground as they spoke, _"I am Zero II..."_

"Liar!" Alex shot down their introduction on the spot, his face twisting up into a bitter, wrinkled state.

" _Am I really lying, in some manner of speaking? I hardly think you are fit to deny who I am, for the knowledge of this current guise of mine has yet to penetrate the deep recesses of your mind."_

Alex opened his eyes a little then tilted his head an inch to the left, twisting his blade until it was horizontal, "Don't bother with your goddamn mind games. I got the last artifact piece, it's over!"

" _Over? Over, you say...How curious. You may have all the artifact pieces, but the Cosmos Drive still evades you. By what definition is this...'over'?"_ The person spoke without fault, as though they were long since prepared for every response that the boy would give, _"This 'game' will end when I say it does. Your words shall never hold any sway over this matter, so it is futile to try."_

"Then show your true face and fight me. We'll settle this here and now!"

" _I have not come looking for a fight...But if you survive what's yet to come, perhaps you shall receive your wish,"_ The person raised their staff adjacent to their hip and waved their other hand around in circles, _"I merely wish to talk to you for a bit. Your own input is...optional, but I will not be rude if you choose to open your mouth."_

"...Hrrr..." Alex wanted to attack, but something was preventing him from doing so. It wasn't fear, it wasn't caution, but rather that it felt as though ropes were wrapped around his entire body and leaving him paralyzed.

" _I find Reploids...fascinating, don't you?"_ The person placed their staff back down and with a tap caused hundreds of Reploids to swarm the area, sweeping up both Alex and them within. The Reploids had a physical presence to them, but as they walked about they only passed through Alex and the enigmatic person's body.

While Alex looked around and found his body left in an abnormal state, as every Reploid that passed him by caused him to suffer a brief stint of dizziness and a churning in his stomach. The mysterious person was unaffected, and continued with his head hung over the crowd.

" _Reploids were designed to be the next stage in robot evolution...Given the ability to think and feel like any other human, the Reploids could integrate themselves more easily into human society to help them with whatever they require."_

" _What a curious contradiction...Reploids were modeled to live amongst the humans, and yet in the end they are still perceived no better as tools than the robots of the past were. But now things are different...With the ability to think for themselves, Reploids can try and demand equality from their human peers."_

" _But that shall always be the flaw of the humanity...Whatever they perceive as 'different' or a 'threat' will be feared. And from fear comes anger, then hate, and finally..."_ The Reploids began to collapse into a heap with a sway of the person's staff, and from the sky rained down a hailstorm of bloodied human corpses that piled upon the heap and filled the void with the rotten smell of decay, _"Suffering..."_

The smell was far too real. It penetrated deep into Alex's nostrils and left him nauseous, forcing his body to hunch over and nearly wretch in disgust. The person lifted their legs and stood atop the corpses as though they were mere stepping stones, getting just a couple feet closer before inquiring, _"Just a mere one hundred lives are enough to make your stomach curl, Phoenix of Destruction? How curious...Seeing how your actions cost the lives of_ _ **six billion people**_ _."_

Alex widened his eyes then flung himself up to his feet, swinging his arms out in a lanky fashion before proclaiming, "How...how do you know that?!"

" _You cannot run from who you are or what you've done. I have made certain...no matter how far you run, the truth shall_ _ **always**_ _...catch up with you."_ The staff's impact with the ground was stronger and louder, as though the person dropped a judge's gavel upon their authoritative perch, and the Reploids and humans vanished. Alex looked up, and the person disappeared as well.

" _But the time for your judgment shall come later...perhaps."_ Alex felt a chill crawl down his spine and looked back, finding that the person was now walking clockwise around his body.

" _Now, shall I continue?"_ It wasn't a request, but rather a pause in the conversation until they had gotten to the left of Alex's body.

" _The suffering of Reploids refuses to end, as no matter how hard they struggle, their superiors will not heed their requests. No happiness, no equality...To humans, Reploids deserve nothing more than the dirt they walk on. And yet, Reploids continue to fight to try and claim what they desire most...Freedom."_

" _Some do so peacefully, others resort to violence. For in the end, Reploids reflect all aspects of mankind, both good and bad."_

Once the person was in front of Alex, the boy got a little fed up with this tirade and exclaimed, "What's the point of any of this? If you're stalling to prevent me from getting the artifact piece to Shina-"

" _Hardly my intention, I can assure you,"_ The person propped their head up and looked towards the 'sky', _"Like I said, I merely wished to talk for a bit. I am almost done, and the point of all this shall present itself soon enough..."_

Alex growled internally, but didn't have a word or action to delay the speech of the enigma.

" _However, there is one crucial difference between humans and Reploids...The Maverick Virus. With but one infection, even the most peaceful of Reploids go rogue, becoming monsters guided only by a desire to turn against their creators."_

" _You, of all people, can imagine how frightening of a thought that is. Sanity becomes fleeting, flesh and sinew that once obeyed now turned against you, and not even a shred of hope remains that you will regain your freedom...Until you are terminated."_

The being tapped the ground with their staff, and the familiar whir of energy charging entered Alex's ears as he jerked his head back just in time to watch a figment of X fire a charged shot through his chest. There was no flesh missing, but Alex still dropped to the ground as though his chest had been made hollow. With hands planted on a shaky hold and mouth drenched by a fevered pant, Alex heard the tappings of footsteps as the person got within one feet of his body and then stopped.

" _Yes. An eternal suffering...a yearning for freedom that will never come...and the fear of a loss of control at any given moment. This world needed no reason to gift you the flesh of a machine, for you wore their skin the moment you were born."_

Alex clasped a hand to the center of his chest and rose up, scowling at the being as his body grew cold and limp from the illusionary embrace of death, "Bastard...! I'm nothing like the Reploids!"

" _Because you have known what's it like to lose and to love? You simply have to look to the Zero of this world, to understand how little such an argument holds up..."_

" _Or perhaps it is because you believe that you serve a higher-purpose? Then perhaps Sigma is a more apt comparison, in that regard. Either way, both examples punctuate the point I am trying to make, as you are merely nothing more than a puppet to a higher power...And what you want from life, shall never reach such deafened ears..."_

"To hell with your condescending...BULLSHIT!" Alex raised up and swung his right hand up, but instead of fire emerging from the palm all he got was the tip of the person's staff touching up against it.

" _I see I have far since worn out my welcome. Know this, Phoenix of Destruction...If fate is truly on your side just this once, then I can promise you one thing. When next we meet, there will be no more deception. We shall both peel away our masks, and meet each other face-to-face as our true selves. Personally, I look forward to our encounter..."_

The person turned away and placed their staff on the ground, appearing to walk away into the shadows of the void. But before their ebony form became one with the darkness surrounding them, they peered over their left shoulder and let out a somewhat embarrassed cough.

" _Forgive me...Where_ _ **are**_ _my manners? I should leave you with a parting 'gift' after you allowed me to occupy your mind for as long as you have."_

"My...mind?" Alex grumbled with growing confusion.

" _So for my 'gift', I shall leave you to ponder upon a question...If you are currently inside your mind...Then just_ _ **who**_ _, pray tell, is guiding your body on the outside?"_

"No..." Alex's body became riddled with goosebumps and his heart twisted into a strangulating knot. He spun around and began to run, picking up his feet as fast as he could and leaving the being far in his wake.

" _I told you, Phoenix of Destruction. There shall be no more running..."_

Alex ran and ran, panting even as his body wanted to give up and collapse. Stress clasped his head and refused to let go, and fear left him feeling as cold as the winter tundra. Yet no matter how far he ran, only the darkness of his mind greeted him as a cage, it's bars more durable than even the toughest metals known in the universe.

"No! No! No! NO!"

" _No! No! No! NO!"_ His voiced screamed as an echo of thought within his own mind, while on the outside his body coiled both fingers around the artifact piece as a black aura formed around him. His face, having been left docile for what may as well been an eternity, began to creak like a mummy coming to life. The lips curled into a smirk, and the hand tucked the artifact piece into his pocket.

"Don't worry. Now that I'm free, we will finally be able to get what we've always wanted.." The body's head lowered, revealing that the boy's once brown irises had turned a bright and bloody red, complete with a visage of Alex pounding in futility against the pupils for a couple seconds.

"And that is a world where no one will ever, EVER be able to hurt us again! And our revenge shall begin with the one who hurt us the most...That ungrateful _bitch_ Shina Aurora!"

For Alex, the worst thing he could have possibly imagined had now come to pass. He was left a prisonwe in his own body, while his destructive split-personality now took the reins. And worst of all, with the power of the artifact piece bound to his body, there was no telling what kind of hell he could unleash upon not just this world, but the entire universe. But in Alex's opinion, the worst thing of all was that everything he and Shina had accomplished would all be rendered pointless because of one, just one, mistake...

" _Oh god...Oh god...Everyone...I-I'm...sorry..."_ Was all he could whimper, as he collapsed onto his knees in a pitiful, defeated slump...

 _Next Time: X's Struggle_


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Beauty and Thorns, Axle the Red**

 _One hour later..._

With the electricity returned to the teleporter system, Shina was brought back to base right away, and before her entire body materialized she dashed straight for the command center. Inside she found X and Zero gathered by Alia at the laptop as she was overlooking the volcano domain. Four screens were utilized to cover the entire area, and the scars of battle against Mattrex were as plain as day.

But Shina's priorities were more focused on the obvious elephant in the room, which she inquired about the moment she approached the three, "Where's Alex?"

X and Alia stiffened up right away, while Zero gave the girl a glance aside his left shoulder and unfolded his arms. While his two comrades hesitated to tell her, he took no pause and told her, "We don't know."

"What? What do you mean?" Shina's earlier fears grew stronger upon hearing that foreboding answer, and she sprinted past Zero to prop herself over Alia's chair in order to survey what she had on the laptop. The gaze of her eyes shifted back and forth at a frantic pace, as she went over each screen at least a dozen times over in the span of fifteen seconds until Alia laid a hand on her left arm.

The girl jerked back with her 'heart' beating fast, looking into Alia's eyes as bitter regret laid itself upon her face, "I'm...I'm sorry Shina. But we haven't been able to find any signs of Alex."

Shina's pupils shrank down to dots for just a moment as she tried to remain calm and assess the situation fully for what it was, which was easier said than done, "W-What happened? Please, tell me everything!"

Sensing the clear and utter panic in her voice, Alia didn't waste any time and brushed a hand out towards the laptop as she explained, "Not long after Alex went to grab a shuttle part against my better judgment, our communications were shut off, including all the cameras in the volcano base. By the time we were able to get things up and running he was just...gone."

"Gone...?" Shina shifted her gaze to Alia for a second then went back to looking at the laptop. Her focus locked onto the sight of the lumbering corpse of Mattrex buried under hardened magma, and she slammed her right pointer finger onto that part of the screen right away.

"Isn't that a Reploid?" She inquired while trying her best to squint at the corpse and identify it ahead of the navigator. However, Alia's processing power was far greater than any humans, and she was able to piece together who the corpse was in a second.

"That looks a lot like Mattrex, a former Repliforce member..." Alia tapped away at the keyboard to zoom in on the corpse, where the closer look got her questioning, "But...last I checked he was never that big."

"Maybe he got some modifications from an illegal arms dealer?" Zero thought of with relative uncertainty towards his answer.

"Or it could be a result of the Sigma Virus." X suggested.

"No no no, it's nothing like that..." Shina shook her head and laid her hands down on the edge of the desk, molding her lips into a tiny frown as she began to recognize the abnormality in Mattrex's body.

"He must've had the artifact piece implanted in his body, and that caused him to transform."

"If that's the case," Zero responded with little regard for how strange the whole situation was, "Then that means Alex defeated Mattrex and acquired the artifact piece."

"...Mmm-hmm..." Shina couldn't disagree, and gave the Hunter a brief nod of the head. Then, her fingers curled up towards the palm, her body growing tense as she could only sense a bad omen awaiting her down the path her thoughts went down.

"...We should probably brace ourselves for the possibility that Alex's gone Maverick." Zero closed his eyes, accepting that his realistic answer would receive some negative reception on the spot. On the spot, Shina spun around and looked Zero in the eyes, laying a hand upon her chest as she sought to deny even the singlest percent of a chance that such a thing could have happened.

"A-Alex would never go Maverick! I know he wouldn't!" Her voiced raged on with a denial and sadness birthed from a growing fear of the events that had occurred in this world thus far, and yet in spite of all that she still had the utmost faith in the humanity of her friend.

"I'm not saying he is...yet," Zero opened his eyes and looked towards the girl, empathizing with her fevered plight, "But unfortunately, that's the only option we have to go on at the moment."

Not that his remarks did her any good, as her head fell into a slump while her fist tightened up and buried itself in the center of her chest. Only when Alia spoke up did she break out of that slump, "If it makes any difference, nothing about Alex seemed off when I was still in contact with him...Well, besides him being a little more irritable."

"Mmm..." Shina let out a melancholic hum and blinked rather slow, her mind unable to stop lingering on what Zero had suggested.

" _Alex...what happened to you?"_ Her body began to shake as though she was deep in snow, and it was a sensation that would not go away until she was certain that her friend was safe. After a brief silence, X approached Shina and reached up to put a hand on her shoulder. She only gave her head a mild turn aside to look at X, who projected a kind and understanding stare.

"I promise you, we'll find him. But right now, I'm certain he'd want us to stay focused on stopping Eurasia."

"...Right." Shina still had a sour expression on her face as she nodded her head.

"Speaking of that, since Alex didn't return, what's the status on the booster engine?" Zero commented with a swift and obvious attempt to draw the conversation away to the more urgent topic.

"No idea. I'd honestly be surprised if the thing even survived the increased activity in-" Alia paused as a beeping entered her ears, and she raised a hand to touch upon her communicator, "This is Alia, you're cleared to speak."

"Uh-huh...Uh-huh...It did? H-How in the...? ...Oh, I see, I see..." Alia gave some rather vague responses, but her tone seemed positive throughout. When she was done, she turned around with a somewhat perplexed look in her eyes.

"Scratch what I said, the booster engine just arrived at the shuttle dock."

"Huh? How is that possible?" X pondered.

"No idea. There wasn't a note or a person nearby. It was like it appeared out of thin air," Alia spoke out with some clear suspicions before suggesting, "I'll contact the shuttle team and tell them to check the engine for any bombs or other kinds of traps."

"In the meantime though, one of you might as well go and get the last part." Alia turned back to her laptop and began typing in the teleportation coordinates for the last area, a forest in Brazil.

"I'll go." X offered right away.

"You sure? I can handle another trip." Zero remarked.

"Zero, I don't want you to push yourself. We'll need all the strength we can get to stop Sigma once we've dealt with Eurasia."

"Hrrr...Alright X, if you insist." There was a moment of hesitation where it seemed as though Zero would object, but then he simply passed up the chance without so much as a hint of a struggle. X nodded his head and gave his thanks, then decided to head for the teleporter.

Once he reached the device, however, Alia contacted him through his communicator, _"Before you head out, let me give you the completed Falcon Armor."_

"Oh, that's right. We got all the parts to that. Sure, I'm ready to accept it Alia." X stood motionless in the capsule as Alia worked tirelessly to code the machine to accept the transference of the armor parts to X's body. He had to stand and wait there for a good minute as each piece materialized around his body, finalizing in the form of a blue-and-white armor. The armor had traits reminiscent of it's namesake, with a beak on the chestplate and upward pointed wings on the back and helmet. His buster now had a pair of talons curved on the sides of the barrel.

" _Looks like it went through perfectly. Good, but be careful anyways X. I can't fully repair those armors if they break down."_

X glossed over the armor for a bit with his left hand. The feel of the surface was as sleek and smooth as all the others, but he could tell that Dr. Light put every bit of his hard-work and love into his work just like always. With a nod of the head, X eased his arms up and remarked, "I'm ready to go."

With one press of the button by Alia, X was sent off in a flash. Though his target destination was somewhere in a forest, the first sights the Hunter laid his eyes on were far more mechanical than natural. He was standing in a waist-deep stream of water that had filled up the entryway of a military base, which was armed with plenty of anti-air cannons beyond the thick lining of electric fences on both sides. What little nature did remain in the area wasn't even organic, and instead had been replaced with machinery meant to emulate the effects that such plants would have on the environment.

But what drew X's attention the most as he began to make his way down the entryway was that the fences were ensnared by a bountiful array of thorny metallic roses. Though he didn't have much interest in studying plants and such, even he knew that roses had no place down here. But before he could contact Alia on the matter, the tip of his toes poked at a resting thorny vine and caused it to spring to life.

With a tall, breeching splash, the vine rose forth and let out a hellish snarl before it whipped itself around in a circle trying to smash X away. The Hunter reacted with shock but managed to flip back out of the way before even one of it's dozens of thorns could scrape him. After one rough and sudden landing, X poised his buster towards the vine as another joined aside it.

"Now, what _do_ we have here?" A sauve and flamboyant voice called out to X from afar, and the vines heeled by erecting themselves perfectly upright on the spot. Three more vines shot up from the ground, but each one had a sleek ruby bud on top. The buds blossomed and spread their petals like an open umbrella, providing a solid stairwell for a Reploid to walk down.

The Reploid was a grassy-green humanoid type with large rose petals for sleeves and three leaves acting as the shoulder plates. Atop his head was a large, fully formed rose with one petal bent down to act as a bang of sorts, and his face doesn't have a mouth to speak of. With a pair of stiff blue eyes, the Reploid gazed upon X and glided his right arm out in front of his sideways standing body. As the Hunter positioned his buster up at him, the Reploid scoffed and flicked his wrist around.

"Oh come now...You invade upon my property and yet _you're_ the one on the defensive? Let me guess...you must be one of those boorish Maverick Hunters." He held himself to a higher standard than his company right off the bat, but X stayed cautious about firing upon the rogue Reploid until he could figure out who they were. One brief scan of their body didn't reveal a single emblem that would indicate who they worked for, thus forcing X to ask directly.

"Who are you?"

"So not only do you barge into my home, but you don't even know who I am? Ghh, your words are like a dagger to my heart, Maverick Hunter." The Reploid faked pain in his chest by lurching back and grasping at it with a clenched hand.

He got over it pretty quickly though, and then got straight to introductions, "I am Axle the Red, the caretaker of this now defunct military base."

"Did you take it over?" X pressed on with his buster still aimed up.

"Urgh...You better not be accusing me of being a Maverick. I'll have you know that this place as abandoned long before I arrived." Axle laid his fingers across the forehead and shook it in dismay at X's accusations.

" _He's not lying about this place being abandoned, but as far as the other accusation goes...I'm getting an abnormal reading of the Sigma Virus inside his body."_

"Abnormal how?" X remained cautious, but to the surprise of him and Alia it was Axle who answered the question.

"I can hear you both, you know. Yes, it is true that I have some traces of the Sigma Virus inside of me, but that is because I was born from it."

"Born...from it?" The idea of such a thing shook X to the core with surprise.

"If I remember correctly, it was the result of a mutation between a Reploid and a nature control unit when both were exposed to the virus." Axle explained while laying a hand upon his chin and giving it a brief rub, as though even he wasn't certain he was remembering correctly.

" _Let me try and collaborate the story..."_ Alia could be heard typing away at the keyboard for a few seconds, _"Yep. Found it. You used to work at one of the Ukraine facilities."_

"'Used to' being the key word there. Uuuuugh, I despised how gaudy that facility was. This place is far, far-" Axle ceased his overdramatic behavior and swiped his arm down towards the ground, exclaiming in a flabbergasted tone towards him, "Now hang on a just a second. Why am I wasting time spilling my guts to a pair of _thieves_? State your business before I decide to turn you into a lawn ornament!"

X lowered his buster a bit and made his point clear and concise, "I'm here for an Orbiter Booster. If there's one in this base, we'd appreciate it if you hand it over."

"An Orbiter Booster you say? Hmmm, yes, I do recall there being one. But I'm not simply about to hand it over to the likes of you."

"What are you talking about? This is no time for games!" X expressed with great urgency while leaning forward and scowling.

"A game?!" Axle was set off in a furious fluster, and with a snap of the fingers the vines beside himself stirred back to life and aimed themselves at X.

"You're the one gallivanting your way into my abode like some thrill seeking pirate! Honestly, this is why the public despises you Maverick Hunters. You go wherever you please and try to lay claim to whatever you darn well want, stepping on the toes and feelings of whatever Reploids happen to cross your path!"

"We're trying to stop the world from being destroyed! If you're getting in our way-!"

"Then I am to be branded a Maverick sent on the path of destruction? I'll accept my fate with thunderous applause if that's the case! I would rather be destroyed than watch as you thugs strong-arm me out of my possessions!" Axle then snapped his fingers twice forward and declared, "Now my lovely roses...Strangle this intruder until his skin is as white as his body!"

The Reploid then spun around and strolled off while his vines snarled and lunged themselves down at X. The Hunter whipped his buster up but didn't have time to shoot, forcing him to leap back. The vines splashed down on the surface of water and rose in a curve immediately, following the trail of X's escape attempt.

With the vines inches away from his body, X hastily kicked his feet back and tried to use his rocket boots to dash away. However, he was in for a rather welcome surprise as his body propelled forward and stayed in mid-air, allowing him to maneuver around with the sleek control of a fighter jet. After a gasp at how weightless his body now was, X pointed his buster forward and watched as the vines twisted around each other in an attempt to loop back after him.

Charging energy into his cannon, X fired a small, fast-moving needle that pierced through the knot in both vines and broke their tips off. Both tips went flying over the fences while the rest of the vines stiffened into an unmoving state. X lowered his weapon and turned it back into a hand, spinning around to find that Axle has already rode a rose deeper into the craggy facility.

" _Looks like you'll have to take the part by force X."_

"I wish it didn't have to be this way, but he's left us with no other choice." X stated with determination, and after clenching his fists together he shot forward like a bullet. His body was enveloped in a barrier of energy, protecting him from harm as he went in pursuit of Axle.

Vines ripped up from the ground and impaled through the ceiling of the entrance to try and block X off, but with a quick and sharp boost X pierced through the vines with the help of his barrier. Then, finding himself in a more compressed space, he decided to land. Then, he sprinted straight ahead through a small hallway, finding signs of Axle's influence on the place all-around him.

" _This place has become more of a botanical garden than a military base. Thankfully that means the weapons are deactivated."_ Alia commented.

"I wonder what kind of Reploids used to live in this place." X looked around, noticing that there was a lot of broken down machinery entangled up in vines whose circumferences were bigger than his body. Meshed together, the vines and trash gave off an emerald haze within the atmosphere. He was so enraptured by the scenery, that he almost ended up running off the edge of the road.

" _Careful!"_ Her sharp alert forced his feet to dig deeper into the road, grinding him to a halt. His toes teetered off the edge, the rest of his body's weight following suit until he jerked himself back. He picked up his feet and took a couple steps back, looking ahead to find that a chasm stretched out for at least a good mile forward. All that awaited him down below was certain death via spikes.

"...Can't make a mistake here." He whispered to himself as he pushed off the ground and activated his newfound flight to begin crossing the chasm. Axle wasn't going to make the trip easy, however, as along the way parts of the ceiling and walls ruptured open and blocked his path with thicker vines than what he had encountered before.

Unused to sudden movements like the ones he had to make to dodge, X threw his body entirely into the opposing walls and smashed them apart like he was a living hammer. His body was left shaking as he tried to regain his focus, and as the thicket of vines grew more intertwined X feared that he would make a mistake and dropped to the closest platform he could.

Panting to catch his breath, X looked ahead and noticed that there was plenty of distance to cover, and thus gauged how best to proceed. He lowered his buster and thought about the new power granted to him and how best to handle it. Closing his eyes to concentrate, X found himself drawn to all the times he rode a Ride Bike or Ride Armor. The smooth way they glided around was similar to the way the Falcon Armor seemed to control.

"If I try and control it like that..." X murmured the moment before he pushed himself off the ground and took flight once more. Now, utilizing what he has learned from other experiences, he prepared a charged shot to blast through the vines and then shot forward the moment his opening was made.

The vines were now not able to keep up with his mobility, as he was able to precisely gauge and fly out of the way the second before they emerged. As he swerved through the obstacles in his path, Alia contacted him with urgent information.

" _X quick! Make a sharp ascent into that alcove up ahead!"_ He rose up a second after hearing that, rising through the alcove and landing on the ledge in one fell swoop. He ended up in front of a Dr. Light capsule, and considering the patterns so far he knew it would be the last one for the Gaea Armor.

But there was still the matter of the questions X had wanted to ask the doctor. With all the chaos that he's had to deal with, none of which was getting any better, he hadn't the time to determine the right way to ask. Without even realizing it either, he had approached the capsule and caused it to activate. The time to ponder such details was now wasted, throwing aside like the trash spread throughout the facility.

" _Greetings X. It feels like it's been quite some time since I last saw you."_ Dr. Light said with a warm smile on his face.

"Doctor..." X looked him in the eyes for a few seconds before lifting his buster up and saying, "Thank you for this Falcon Armor. You put a lot of work into it."

" _I've put my heart and soul into every armor I make. Though that's quite ironic, considering my current state."_ He came off as rather humored towards himself, though X didn't particularly seem invested in laughing at the joke himself. Dr. Light tilted his head aside and looked at his creation with a stern glare.

" _X, I can tell when something is bothering you. Remember, you are always welcome to speak up at anytime."_

"I-I know, I know!" Dr. Light was taken aback by how agitated X came off as, but knew his reaction could only be reasonable given the circumstances. Preferring silence to offering comfort, Dr. Light waited for his creation to express himself.

"...Mmmmhh...I'm sorry Doctor. But...what can I say that I haven't already? Nothing's changed, and I'm starting to wonder if it ever will."

" _Nothing can ever be changed in a day, or a week...perhaps not even a month,"_ Dr. Light looked around the area and found inspiration from the environment, _"Change is like...growing a plant, X. You start off with a small, delicate seed or bud, and if you neglect it then it shall always remain the same. But put in the time and effort to tend to it, and some day it'll blossom into a beautiful flower that you can be proud of."_

" _...I implore you X, do not give up on this world. Someday, a flower of peace shall bloom."_

"Doctor..." X closed his eyes for a moment and took in a deep breath before flashing his creator a smile and saying, "I wish there was some way to pay you back after everything you've done for me."

" _Just keep on living. That's all I ask of you, X."_ The doctor's voice was quiet but filled with pride.

"I will...I promise." The Hunter gave a brief nod of the head before the hologram of the doctor disappeared, allowing him to step inside and claim the last piece of the Gaea Armor. Once this process was done, the capsule sealed up with X's departure, and he rested a hand upon his buster while overlooking the edge of the alcove.

He leapt down and descended back into the chasm, spinning his body around and activating the power of flight to boost straight ahead through the remainder of the obstacles in his path. Soon enough, he'd land at the bottom of a couple steps leading up to a steel door. Axle the Red had to lie beyond it. Poising his buster for battle, X vaulted up to the top and ran through the sliding door to the secluded room at the end.

In this room, the trashed machinery was untouched by the metallic vines and roses X had come to axpect. Instead, they had been inflicted with a dry, musky moss from years of being kept alone. Observation of this strange, organic occurrence would have to wait, for the Reploid X had pursued was standing at the opposite end of the room with a fickle metal rose in his right hand and a contemplative look in his eyes as he stared at it.

"Hmph, so you overcame my precious primroses after all. I should hardly be surprised...Brutes like you are always stepping on the littler folk to get what you want." Axle didn't pay X even the slightest hint of attention, believing the indulgence of floral beauty was far better worth his time.

X raised his buster up towards the Reploid and demanded from him, "No more games Axle the Red! Hand over the Orbiter Booster, or I will be forced to terminate you as a Maverick!"

"Nothing's changed from before, Maverick Hunter. I told you...I'd rather die than be forced to part with my belongings."

"Why? Is one machine really worth that much to you?!" X couldn't quite understand the Reploid's obsession, but he would receive no such answer as instead the insulted Axle threw a bitter remark right back into X's face.

"Haw! As though I would expect a thief to understand the value another might have in their properties! Especially not the likes of you, Maverick Hunter X."

'What are you talking about..We're not thieves!"

"You can deny the truth all you want, but you and your band of rogues have pilfered from many lesser Reploids many times over. And you, X, are the biggest thief of them all!" Axle rose spun to the right and brandished the blossomed rose towards him with an accusing demureness to him, "I know all about your power to copy the abilities of other Reploids you have slain in battle. On top of that, I'm most certain that no one in your company would have the ability to create that garish armor you've forced upon my sights."

"So tell me X...Peel away the armor and stolen powers and what do you have left? Just a mish-mash of plates and wires unfit to be called a man let alone a Reploid!"

Though the comments stung a bit, as X could admit that Axle's words held some semblance of truth, he was able to fight through any lingering doubts he had to be able to tell the Reploid just who he was, "I...am the **hope** of this world!"

"A champion of hope, you say? Hmph, that's nothing more than the hypocrisy of a murderer trying to justify his bloodlust!" Axle then threw his rose to the ground and snapped his wrist towards it, his hand transforming into a long, tender vine. A violet aura burst into existence around his body and his eyes glowed bright red as he aimed a piercing glare straight towards his company.

"All you Maverick Hunters are a danger to this world! And I will not allow you to get your way any longer!"

Axle whipped his vine forward, coiling it up into a tight purple sphere covered in spikes that flew straight towards X. The Hunter leapt up and levitated in place with the help of his new armor, cocking his buster towards the Reploid. But then his back was impaled by three spikes as the prior sphere bounced off the wall, causing him excrutiating pain. He jerked his body around to throw the ball off, but then was constrained around the waist by a thinner vine whip.

Axle squinted his eyes shut and twirled his body back towards the wall behind him, whipping X's body through the room and grinding him against the leftmost wall before reaching the intended target. Axle tightened his constriction as X planted his hands down upon the vine and tried to push himself out, then taunted him with an elegant boast, "You will never escape my grasp. It's futile!"

X thought quick and planted his feet against the wall, charging up the propulsion until the boots reached their limit and sent his body rocketing against the grasp of his foe. He swung his body back and rammed his head straight into Axle's chest as their eyes popped open, the blow striking as hard as a one-tone hammer. Axle was thrown back into the opposite side of the room but planted his feet firmly on the ground before he struck the wall, upon which he coiled the vine back into his wrist while placing one hand upon his wounded gut.

"Ghh, you boorish cad!" Enraged beyond belief, Axle threw one spiked ball towards X then whipped his other hand forward to create another. Both bounced around the room faster than the first did, but X flipped himself around with an agile thrust of his boosters and launched himself between the center of the approaching balls. Then he pushed himself towards the ground and rolled forward, switching to a foggy blue color for his armor and holding the buster straight towards Axle's face.

For a second, X tried to perform a charged attack, but then noticed that no energy was building up within the buster. With a brief glance at his arm cannon, X wasted his oppurtunity to catch the Reploid by surprise, and Axle responded by punching the Hunter square in the face. Axle shook his open hand out the moment his hit connected, failing to pay attention to X as he then glanced over his shoulder and flipped back past the returning spheres.

"What?!" Axle widened his eyes then quickly whipped a vine out from each hand to smack the balls away a mere foot before they connected. One went up and the other dropped down, both preparing to bouncing their way back to X's location. The Hunter thrust his buster forward and changed his armor to a black and yellow tint. From the tip of the buster he fired three bolts of electricity, one forward and one up and down each. The vertical bolts intercepted the spheres and destroyed them, while the forward one struck Axle in the chest and left him frazzled for a second.

X boosted forward and switched back to the prior color, throwing his right fist up into an uppercut that struck Axle in the jaw and dragged him towards the ceiling with a summoned whirlwind. X took a couple steps back as the Reploid's head crunched down a bit from impact, then aimed up with his armor switching to a brownish color scheme. He fired two fast flying orange crescents into Axle's body to cut it up around the hip and leg, by then the Reploid being able to pull himself free and drop to the ground.

Axle's eyes were enflamed with a devilish fury, and he whipped both his vines arms towards the ground to try and crush X beneath his might. The Hunter leapt back then took flight to avoid the tremors of his foe's attack, then aimed his regular charged shot at the Reploid's head. Axle heaved his vines up and lashed them towards X, who weaved past the vines to line up his shot.

He doesn't hesitate, and like an arrow the shot pierced straight through the sky and blew a hole right through Axle's chest. The Reploid's vine drooped to the ground as his body slumped up against the wall, trembling as his functions began to shut down.

"No...no...I'll not allow this!" Axle screamed with a liveliness unexpected of one so close to death, and he burrowed his vine deep into the ground before X could get a chance to react. Then, the entire room trembled as dozens of vines erupted from the ground and ceiling to form a cage around X.

"You're a danger to this world! If I'll die...then you'll go with me!" At his behest, the vines squeezed themselves closer together, trying to trap X in an inescapable clasp. Axle's eyes stayed only partway open as he tried to maintain his desperate final attack. However, light burst forth from the cracks, flushing out all the darkness within the room in a matter of seconds.

"I-Impossible!" Axle exclaimed, and a second later a hole burst open in the center of the vines as X rocketed forward and smashed through the right side of the Reploid's face. Pressing the chunk of the head he tored out against the wall, X stood in place beside the Reploid as the spark in his eyes began to fade. With just one eye to glance with, Axle stared at the Hunter and spent the last moments of his life in defiance.

"W-What a...joke. Maverick Hunters...are supposed to stop Mavericks? If you...go rogue...then who in the hell would be able to stop... **you**..." The Reploid shut down without an inquiring emphasis. His head limped forward, the edge of his hole falling upon X's wrist as he began to pull his fist free from the wall. He gave Axle a brief touch to absorb his power, but his mind was a little shaken by his final words.

He didn't want to consider the possibility that he would go Maverick, but if he did...He could at least trust that Zero would be able to put him down before it's too late. With a deep sigh, X got in contact with Alia.

"It's over. Now all that's left is to assemble the shuttle."

" _Yes...Even if he got in our way, we can't let these deaths be in vain. I'll bring you back to base immediately."_ And in five seconds, X would be returned to HQ. But little did he know that the worst was yet to come.

 _Next Time: Those Who Sow Chaos_


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: All or Nothing**

X returned to the HQ and took off his Falcon Armor for the time being, with Alia storing it inside the datascape for him. He went back to the command center where the others were gathered around at Alia's desk, as usual, but now they were joined by Signas.

Signas was the one who greeted X first, approaching him with both arms tucked back and his demeanor as unflinching as an iceburg, "Congratulations are in order, X. We now have all the parts we need to assemble the space shuttle."

"It wasn't easy..." X could only breath a mild sigh of relief, as not only were past events still on his mind but the future was still uncertain. He lifted his head up and glanced to the right, finding that Shina was staring at the laptop with a tense tapping of her fingers along the edge of the desk.

"...Commander Signas, can you give me a moment?" He requested with a respectful glance up towards Signas. The Commander nodded his head with an eased smile.

X then went around him and approached Shina from behind, addressing her with a cautious raise of the right hand and a murmur of her name. She clenched her fingers up in a vice and her body shot upright as she swung around and gave him a tired stare.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't find any signs of Alex in that area." He gave a sincere apology even though, by all means, he had nothing to be sorry for. Shina lowered her head and curled her lower lip up in a bitter pucker, then looked away from X before replying.

"Course he wouldn't be there...B-But thanks for trying."

She tried to project just a little hope in her voice, but was never going to fool X with that act. He could tell just how down in the dumps she was, for he had experienced a similar mindset back when Zero had died. Indeed, nothing short of an absolute confirmation that Alex was fine would suffice in uplifting Shina's mood. But both X and her knew what had to be prioritized, as Alia would soon remind them.

"I hate to break up you two's conversation, but they're just about done assembling the shuttle for launch."

"That soon? What about the booster engine?" X inquired with belated surprise.

"No bombs, no tracking devices, nothing. It was clean...almost too clean, if you ask me." Zero answered before letting out a drawn-out sigh.

"We don't really have the time to doubt our generous benefactor here," Signas remarked while approaching the group, "The moment the shuttle is put together, we'll need to launch it right into Eurasia."

"We still don't have a pilot though." Alia was the one who dredged that worrisome subject out from the depths, and upon doing so the group went quiet and contemplative. Zero closed his eyes and crossed his arms for a good minute before deciding to speak up.

"Alia, you've had some experience as a pilot in the past, right?"

"Yes, but I'm not a combat-type...I don't have the endurance to survive the impact." Alia didn't answer to dissuade Zero's suggestion, but rather to speak what was already on his mind. After a barely noticeable nod Zero lifted his body up and took a couple steps closer to X.

"Between the two of us, I have the higher proficiency with these kinds of vehicles X. So let me be the pilot." The two stared at each other without budging even to blink, with Zero's tone coming off more as a child requesting permission rather than a certainty that he was going to do it.

"Zero..." Something about the way his friend spoke left X in a state of unease. It wasn't like him at all to act this way, and out of instinct to this change of behavior X tried to defy his request even if it wasn't the rational thing to do.

"I-I can't let you pilot it! Let me take the wheel instead!" He couldn't put his all into his defiance, as the reasoning in his processors was reining him in. Zero continued to look at him for a good few seconds, resonating with his comrade's will enough to let out a brief chuckle through a tiny smile.

"Huh...? What's wrong Zero?" X was even further bewildered by his friend's behavior.

"X, come with me for a moment," Zero didn't wait a second to start walking towards the door, giving a brief glance to the right at Signas before giving respect to his position, "We'll be right back."

The Commander gave his approval with a silent nod, and the two Hunters exited the room to enter the empty hallway. After the door sealed shut behind them, the only sounds the two heard were the steady pace of their footsteps for a good ten seconds. Then, in a brief and uncharacteristic moment of impatience, X dashed ahead and grabbed onto the back of Zero's left shoulder and said, "Answer me Zero! What's wrong with you?!"

Zero stopped on the spot and let X's caring hand rest upon his shoulder for a few seconds before he began to turn around. He crossed his arms, trying to stick right to the subject without acknowledging the depths of X's emotions, "X, just let me pilot the spaceshuttle."

"Why do **you** have to be the one to pilot it? I can handle it just as well as you can."

"It's too risky. If anything goes wrong, then you'll die."

"The same goes for you! Zero, you're not making any sense!" X could see through every excuse his friend tried to make, and his attempt to deflect the subject was just making X angrier.

"...X, I've always told you, haven't I? You're a crucial part of this world. Without you, who'd be around to stop Sigma or the other Mavericks?" Zero relayed the utmost honesty to his friend through the words he chose, but the sudden tonal shift only served to throw X into a greater state of confusion than before. Even as his anger melted away, X's fists tightened up beside his chest.

"You would! Zero...you've already died once. I refuse to let you throw your life away again!"

"This is my decision to make X. And I'm not going to back down just because you told me to." Zero closed his eyes and continued to remain calm.

"At **least** tell me WHY, Zero...I'm your friend, don't I at least deserve that much?" X was greatly disheartened, and if he were human tears would be trickling down the sides of his face at this very moment. In spite of all this, however, Zero remained diligent in keeping his feelings locked tight within a vault of his own creation.

"...This...this isn't because you still regret killing Iris and Colonel, is it?" X's precise choice of words were the only key that could free the truth from Zero's mind, and his response was near instantaneous.

"No..." Zero wearily opened his eyes and let out a sigh, "No, I've...gotten over that by now."

Zero fixated his gaze onto X's eyes and told him, "X, you have to promise to keep this between the two of us."

X reeled back with a tight-lipped gasp and then gave a nod of the head, waiting for Zero to muster up the strength to respond, "I...I think I've been infected by the Sigma Virus."

"W-What...?" X could only restrain his surprise so much, watching as his friend's demeanor turned melancholy and he parted his arms to glance at both his palms.

"But...I'm not certain. Ever since the virus has spread across the planet, I've felt...different. It's like my body's accepting the virus, not trying to fight it off. I don't know what this means, but I..." For a second, Zero's hands shook, something that did not escape X's sight. The Hunter tightened his fingers up into fists to stop the shaking, then bit his teeth down in frustration.

"I can't shake off the feeling that...if I go Maverick, something really bad is going to happen. That's why I have to pilot the shuttle X. To destroy it and myself before it's too late."

X didn't have any words to say. His mind raced at everything Zero was suggesting, and there was not a single coherent thought that he could pull free from the jumbling whirlwind of emotions inside his head. Only the shrill sound of a warning siren going off in the hallway was enough to allow him escape from his current predicament, even if it would ultimately be just a brief respite.

" _X! Zero! Get back to the command center immediately! Code Red! Code Red!"_ Alia was in a panic, and that particular tone caused Zero and X to just look at each other for a moment before turning for the door and sprinting back. Zero took the lead and X stared at his backside, unable to shake off the concerns he had towards his friend.

The two rushed straight for Alia once they entered the door, finding her overlooking footage of the spaceshuttle area being invaded by an unsurprising guest. Dynamo had returned, and already he had sliced through five of the workers on the way to the shuttle. Merciless, unflinching, the Reploid cleaved each target in half and then moved forward without a second's pause.

"That Maverick's returned...How did he find our shuttle dock?" Zero remarked. 

"We don't have time to find out. If he damages the shuttle..."

"He's not going to get a chance! Set up the teleporter, I'm going in!" X proclaimed to interrupt Signas.

"Already on it! Go X, go!" Alia hastily typed away at the keyboard to set up the coordinates. X turned around and ran for the door, but not before Zero also gave his input.

"Hold on X, I'm coming too," He watched his comrade turn his head on the spot before he explained, "I'll get on the shuttle and launch it while you deal with Dynamo."

"W-Wait a moment Zero!" X wanted to raise an objeciton, but emotions were running high and Signas shot him down right away, "There's no time to debate this. Alia, divert all electricity in the base to the teleporters."

"On it!" Alia kept typing, making it any wonder how her fingers didn't burn themselves off in the process.

"H-Hold on!" Shina then proclaimed, snapping out of her current funk with an earnest desire to help, "Let me come along too! M-M-My aura is good at defense!"

Though her all wasn't thrown into her request to help, X could sense the genuine heart in her voice and thus nodded his head. Shina puckered her lips then joined the two Hunters in running for the teleporters, which were being overwhelmed with electricity from the remainder of the base just to get them all running properly. The three leapt in and were warped off, the teleporters frying until they were black right after.

One after the other the three ended up inside the warehouse the shuttle was being worked on, landing down at the base of the rockets. Dynamo was right there in front of them, his expression going from focused to laid-back intrigue on the spot.

"Well well well! If it isn't Zero! I was expecting to run into you again!" Dynamo tilted his head and looked at the other two, whipping a pair of fingers up in the shape of a gun to gesture to each one, "And you in the armor...X, right? You actually look a lot more impressive in person than I thought."

"But the girl with you...Lemme guess, you're friends with that hot-head I fought earlier?" As Shina widened her eyes Dynamo smirked and laid the hand down on the hip and kept as cool as a cucumber, "Still, coming at me three-on-one? I'm kinda flattered that you see me as that much of a threat."

Zero swiveled his head back and whispered to his comrades, "I'll board the shuttle. Take the fight outside the warehouse."

He didn't wait for a response and leapt all the way up to the top of one of the boosters, using it as support to launch himself towards the main cockpit of the shuttle. X watched his advance until Dynamo's dry chuckle snapped his attention towards him.

"Still trying to save the world are you? You think you'd have taken the hint when the Enigma failed."

"W-We're not going to let your plans come to fruitition!" X proclaimed with a ferocious glare aimed straight into Dynamo's eyes. The Reploid shook for a moment but had a smile on his face, faking fear as he waved his hands around beside his head.

"Ooooh, feisty one ain't ya? What is **with** you and Zero and your hot-headed attitudes? Oh well, not that I'm complaining, it makes you a lot more interesting than the rest of the riff-raff." Dyanmo then swung his two-sided sword up and deflect a swift bullet aimed to his face, looking ahead to find that Shina has activated her Gunslinger Drive and used a pistol to attack.

"Don't you get what you're doing?! Your actions are going to destroy the world!" Shina proclaimed in a rage born of frustrations pent-up over the last few hours. Before she took another shot with reckless abandon, X swung his hand up to block the barrel of her other pistol, the point-blank shot leaving an ashen imprint on his palm.

Shina was left embarrassed that she had be stopped, and with a blush she retracted her pistols and slumped her head downward. X then looked to Dynamo, who couldn't stop smirking at the remark Shina had made.

"Destroy the world? Yeah, I guess we are going to in some manner of speaking. But hey, be grateful. We'll be creating a new, much better world to replace this old, drab one."

"Any world of Sigma's will never be a good one!" X proclaimed with teeth-gritting defiance.

Dynamo reared his head back with a swift but solid jerk, pointing out with a brutal honesty, "And the current world's any better? Reploids are constantly being oppressed as tools of the humans, never knowing what it's like to be as free as the wind."

He waved his hand around in a crude gesture towards the two who had held objections, then thrust a pointer finger out towards X in particular, "In the world Sigma wishes to create, there won't be a need for oppression, or war, or hell...Even death. The Earth will become a safe haven for all Reploids who weather the storm. I mean...you are fighting for 'peace', right, X?"

"All Reploids deserve a chance to be free...But what Sigma wants isn't freedom, but a tyranny with him reigning over all!" X continued to remain unswayed by the words of his opponent, the struggle he provided causing Dynamo to shrug his shoulders and brush his arms out beside his face.

"Geez, talk about a pair of walking contradictions."

He laid a hand on his right hip and then looked right at X, "A robot who seeks peace through violence..."

Then he gestured towards the rocket before remarking with scathing disregard for the tone, "And a wanna-be hero who's actually the world's greatest villain..."

"W-What are you talking about?" X stammered out in abject shock.

"Oh, what? Didn't Zero tell you what Sigma told him?" Dynamo creased his grin in a sly manner and then looked back at X, relishing a bit in his bewilderment.

"News flash...The Maverick Virus you've all been trying so, **SO** hard to stop...First came from Zero!"

"Ghhh...!" X grit his teeth and recoiled back, and denial was the only logical response he could muster right away, "Y-You're lying! Zero's-"

" **What** is Zero, really?" Dynamo shut him down with a piercing retort, then with a more forward attitude than usual he thrust his entire right arm up to point at X, "You don't even know what _you_ are, X! So where do you get off pretending to know anything about Zero?"

X froze up as his mind forced him to recall many memories all at once. He gripped his hands on the sides of his head and leaned forward, listening as all the times Sigma had spoken about the nature of virus started to make sense, as did Zero's behavior over these last few months.

"N-No...! It...It can't...BE!" X's screams were painful to hear.

"X!"

" _X!"_

Shina and Alia tried to snap him out of it simultaneously, but it was not their care that would draw his attention away from the pain. Instead, it would be Dynamo, who saw the Hunter's struggle as a chance to rub salt further into the wound.

"That's right X. Zero's no friend...He's your greatest enemy!"

X pulled his shaking hands away from his head and focused his glare upon Dynamo. All attempts to remain calm were failing him, leaving the Hunter with just pure, unbridled rage directed towards the Reploid standing in front of him.

"DYNAAAAAMMOOOOOO!" X took off from the ground and plowed both his fists into the Reploid's chest, releasing a shockwave that threw the spare nuts and bolts on the ground across the room. X boosted faster and faster, releasing concurrent shockwaves that left the warehouse in shambles, until he was finally able to smash Dynamo's body through a five foot thick wall of pure steel.

The two were dragged out into the rocky wasteland, which was surrounding by mountainous crag formations and a sunset sky as pristine as a morning rose. Dynamo struggled to put on a grin while beginning to swing his choice of weapon towards X.

"Now this is more like it! This wouldn't have been fun if you weren't going all-out!" He fought against the velocity pressing against his body to try and attack X. The Hunter braked on the spot and forced Dynamo away without a scratch to his system, landing on the ground at the same time as his opponent. Dynamo's feet dug two deep crevices at least ten feet long before he stopped.

With a relaxed twist of his weapon around the hand, Dynamo began to spin around with the two-blades held high while proclaiming, "But your heat can't touch me! I'm the coolest!"

A violet aura erupted from Dynamo's body the very moment he spun and sliced the ground with both blades around the same time, causing a gushing wave of white energy to speed forth between the trenches. The energy was twice as tall as X, but height was a non-issue with the power of flight at his disposal. He rocketed over the energy with the ease of overcoming a fallen branch, then pointed himself downward and dove straight at Dynamo.

A quick swing of the blades deflected X's charge but pushed Dynamo back, and right off the recoil X flew around and targeted his foe from behind. Dynamo planted one foot back then slashed with his sword to deflect the next time, but X kept coming after him from different directions every time. Dynamo predicted every attack and struck back with a precise counter, only to find that even as he attacked with all his might X's armor wasn't receiving a single scar.

"Tsk...!" Dynamo buckled both his feet down and grabbed his sword in the grasp of his hands, holding it diagonally upward. He slanted his brows and waited for X to dive at him, his gaze focusing straight on the raw anger radiating from X's gritted teeth.

But before his arms could budge an inch, an explosion went off on his back and forced his body to take a partial step forward. He glanced back and saw Shina flying down with both feet forward and a rocket launcher hoisted over the left shoulder, but would only be able to acknowledge that sight for a second before both of X's fists were burrowed into his chest.

X didn't drag him forward again, instead choosing to launch him across the wasteland and then immediately stall his body upright to aim the buster towards Dynamo. In a second his charged shot was set to fire, but he didn't stop at one. Two, three, then four shots were released from the buster by the time X chose to relent. Each shot sped through the air faster than Dynamo flew, yet the Reploid swung his sword out three times to cut them down.

In the midst of swinging to deal with the fourth, Shina intercepted him from behind with a blunt shoulder ram, leaving her squinting her eyes in pain. She then somersaulted over Dynamo as the last charged shot left a circular dent in his chest, and after flipping upside-down and diagonal she assaulted the wound with at least a hundred bullets from her pistols. The plating of his body wasn't fully breeched, but the pristine black paint had begun to chip off.

Shina finished the remainder of her descent with the weightlessness of a feather, but sprung forth towards Dynamo with the energy of a rabbit. She planted a shotgun of aura into the wound the two had started to build and began to pull the trigger, only for Dynamo to slice through the barrel with one side of his blade and nearly cleave her fingertips off with the other side as he sliced back.

Shina pulled away and threw her arm aside in a panic, biting down on her lower lip and gulping before she lifted her right leg an inch up off the ground to surround it with a rocket boot. She then released a burst of energy from the hell and thrust the leg towards Dynamo's face in the form of a broad roundhouse kick. Dynamo shifted his weight to the right to duck under her leg then used his current momentum to try and roll further away.

Halfway towards the ground, Dynamo's entire body was struck by a thorny ball that impaled itself into his frame and rolled him along for a good couple feet into he was able to dig a blade in and slice it through. He was left lying on the ground long enough for X to come flying in and throw an uppercut into his chest as he got up, where the Hunter's knuckles twisted the plating before throwing his body skyward with a whirlwind.

Shina flipped fifty feet into the air and pointed herself downward, spinning around faster than a normal blender while assailing Dynamo with a hail of bullets from above. X pointed his buster up and prepared charged shot after charged shot, striking Dynamo in the back hard enough to suspend him in place with Shina's help long after the whirlwind disappeared.

When Shina got close enough to Dynamo she let up on her assault and flipped around, prepared to use the Reploids' gut as a springboard to leap to safety. However, Dynamo managed to fight past the pain of X's charged shots for just a brief second in order to spin his body clockwise and ram his right foot right up into Shina's back to send her crashing face-first into the dirty, rocky ground.

X glanced at her for a moment then looked up to fire a charged shot at Dynano. However, given the momentum he put into his spin, the Reploid was now in the prime position to fend off the charged shot with a single sword slash. The projectile ended up crashing down on the ground before X's feet the moment he chose to leap back, using his boosters to extend the length of his descent until he was five feet back from where he started. Dynamo landed on the ground and charged at him with the sword swung down, but X simply met the attack head-on with the back of his right arm.

The two locked in place and looked at each other with their faces one inch apart, while sparks flew forth between that miniature gap. X grit his teeth and dug his feet into the ground, cracks erupting around them as he put all his pressure into a hard-thrown left hook. Dynamo flipped back out of the way then threw his sword out like a discus. Shina ran in front of X and crossed her arms before the face to summon a barrier, causing the sword to deflect off it and levitate in the air. The moment Dynamo landed, however, he swung his right hand up and called the sword back with magnetism while a smile bridged the gap between his cheeks.

Back in the shuttle, Zero had buckled himself up with a tight leather seatbelt and had both his hands planted squarely on the sides of the sleek metallic wheel. He was surrounded by dozens of levers and buttons, encased safely behind a thick glass window that was staring straight at the opening rooftop. His eyes focused only on the skies beyond, where a black speck could be seen coming in closer.

" _Zero, everything's looking good on your end..."_ Alia chimed in over the comms.

"Roger that. I'm raising the platform and angling it towards Eurasia now." He lifted a hand only to brush two levers directly above his head. The shuttle shook and began to rise with a creaking hiss, as the platform struggled to support its multiple ton weight.

" _Estimated angle of launch should be 77.48 degrees."_

"Understood. Locking into place now..." Once the shuttle was sticking out of the warehouse and aimed in the proper direction, Zero could feel the whole ship rumble, and the presence of the colony above bore down on him with a weight far greater than the world. He remained silent and focused on what lied ahead, his body portraying not even the slightest hint of tension.

" _...Zero, is what Dynamo said true? A-Are you actually..."_

"Cutting transmission to preserve power. Set the countdown to t-minus thirty seconds, Alia." Zero reached down to the radio and pressed the off button the moment he was done talking, then looked back on ahead with a deep and prolonged sigh.

The shuttle shook as the rockets built up power, and Zero's hands tightened around the wheel to the point it almost started to bend. He closed his eyes and tried to clear his head of any immaterial distractions.

" _Do you have your own place where you stand around and relax, Zero?"_ Skiver's voice echoed.

" _But it appears, in the end that you can only find purpose in battle..."_ Colonel's lament bore itself deeply on his conscience.

" _I-I wanted to exist in a world where only Reploids exist...With you."_ Iris' tearful farewell would never part ways with his mind.

" _You've denied who you are this whole Zero, but now you shall be awakened! Remember your purpose Zero, you were built...TO DESTROY MEGA MAN X!"_ Sigma's decree echoed the most, a cacophony that disturbed the peace he was trying to obtain.

Zero's eyes cracked open nice and slow, and after a couple flashes of light outside he poked his head up just a bit to find X and Shina fighting valiantly against Dynamo outdoors. Even though his comrade was a speck in the endless sea of brown, Zero could tell he fought with all he had.

"...X, you're really extraordinary," Zero gave off a rare smile before closing his eyes once more, "The world'll be safe in your hands, I'm willing to stake my life on that."

The trembling in the rocket grew greater, but in a good way. Zero was secure with himself in the fact that he'd be giving his life to stop Eurasia as the countdown ticked off the last remaining seconds of it like they were grains of sand in an hourglass. Zero opened his eyes and looked out the window, releasing one long, final breath of hesitation before he dug his feet deep onto the pedals and locked the steering wheel into position.

"Lift-off!" He proclaimed, and after the initial ignition the rocket jettisoned off the platform and sped off towards the sky. His departure impacted those in combat down below, forcing them to halt in place as the rocket's engines reverberated shockwaves to the ground. Dynamo looked up and twisted his head back, an only somewhat dejected look in his eyes.

"It's over Dynamo! Sigma's plans are finished!" X proclaimed while thrusting his buster up at the Reploid, who turned his head back and placed the deactivated handle of his sword on his back.

"Hehehe? Oh really? That's a bummer then. I was really looking forward to seeing what was going to happen." Dynamo was acting far too coy, setting alarms off in both Shina and X's heads immediately.

"Give it a rest! You've lost!" Shina whipped both her pistols in the direction of the Reploid, who was reaching into the pouch adorned on his left hip to pull out a small handheld trigger button.

"Oh, I don't think so. I didn't actually think you'd get that hunk of metal off the ground, but it's a good thing I came prepared." Dynamo raised the switch up before his face and put a thumb above the button.

"See this? It's a det-" His hand was forced open and the switch flung behind him from a single bullet on Shina's part. Dynamo leaned his head back and watched the detonator fall to the ground with a quiet thud.

"Nope! Forget it! Just accept your loss with dignity!" Shina proclaimed while shaking her head in disappointment.

"...Heh, not bad!" Dynamo still smirked, then gestured a thumb over his right shoulder towards the detonator, "But that's why I brought a _dead-man's switch_."

X and Shina's eyes popped open, with her earlier confidence fading away to be replaced with dread. The light on the detonator turned green and the button pressed down. Dynamo, meanwhile, stood still with hands planted on both hips.

"Now, why don't you just sit back and enjoy the fireworks? As for me well...Time to bail and wait for this all to blow over. Ciao!" Dynamo swung his right hand up beside his face and then warped away, leaving X to run to where he once stood and then look towards the sky.

"Zero...! ZERO!" He threw his right hand up in a panic, unable to see even a trace of the shuttle's current state.

Little did any of the Hunters know, Dynamo had snuck a bomb on the bottom right rocket, and the moment the dead-man's switch went off the explosion of the bomb destroyed that rocket entirely. The position of the rocket shifted downward and rocked left to right, straying off it's given course. Sirens flared red in the cockpit as the tremors grew worse for Zero.

"Not...yet...!" He tightened his grip and reared the wheel back as hard as he could, taking the reins of the now faulty shuttle while his cockpit began to heat up. He squinted one eye shot as volatile fumes shot into it, making it harder for him to concentrate on what lied ahead. Though his path was diverted, Zero tried to pool all remaining juice into the two thrusters to get back on track.

The thinnest of clouds were far behind him, and any traces of the sky were now a distant memory. All that awaited him now was the darkness of space, and his inevitable demise. The temperature rose, bolts shooting off the rim of the window and striking Zero in the face, as though deliverance from a higher power to get him to stop. He pressed on, slamming his feet down on the pedals with all the strength he could apply, even as they began to buckle down under pressure.

The rocket ignited in a furious blaze even as oxygen grew scarce, turning it into something resembling a fiery red comet than a vehicle meant to guide man towards new horizons. Eurasia was a blur of seething scarlet metal in the distance, coming in so fast that there wasn't time to think or fathom the scope of the colony.

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Zero let out one defiant scream that was deaf to all but himself, charging into Eurasia in one swift but impactful moment.

The explosion that went off could be seen from the ground halfway across the world, but it didn't affect anyone as prominently as it did X. The explosion reflected off the glaze of the Hunter's eyes, which stayed fixated upon the miles-wide blast in the sky that was but as big as his fist. He trembled and fell into a slump, unable to say a word.

He then dropped to his knees and looked utterly defeated. Shina went right to his side and laid her hands on his shoulders, but had no words of comfort to offer in this situation. The depths of the relationship between the two Hunters was not something she had any right to comment on, no matter how much about it she may or may not know of.

The tender, victorious silence, however, was soon broken up by a tearful whimper coming in over the comms.

" _I-I'm sorry...X...Zero...Zero's sacrifice was in vain...Ten percent of the Eurasia colony is still intact...A-And it's hurtling towards the planet even faster than before. The whole planet won't be wiped out, but...but without the teleporter runnnnn..."_ The transmission cut out as the fireball in the sky grew larger, bathing the wasteland in a deep crimson that would only get brighter the closer the flaming remains of the colony got.

Shina shot right up and tugged on the back of X's shoulder, exclaiming to him with a fervent cry of panic, "We have to run now!"

X stared into the fireball with mouth partially agape, welcoming it's impact with stiffened silence. It didn't matter that the rest of the colony would crash down miles away, the force of the shockwave would surely be enough to catch him and Shina no matter how far they ran.

"Ghhh...!" Shina looked back and forth at the warehouse and X, then turned around and threw herself on top of him, tightening her arms around his body while spreading wings of aura out from her backside. She created at least two dozen layers of aura from her body to envelop them in a protective chrysalis, and yet none of this was enough to make X even blink. His body was catatonic, as unmoving as a statue while Shina held onto him and refused to let go.

" _I have to protect him. I can't let the hope of this world be destroyed!"_ She squinted her eyes shut and hoped that all of her efforts would not be in vain.

When the remains of Eurasia crashed down, the sound of it's impact didn't reach the two's location from at least five seconds, but it's roar was so grand that it breeched through their protection. And that was just the initial effect. A shockwave tore asunder any rocks that stood in it's path no matter how great they towered over the land, and left the warehouse slanting back until the whole thing was ripped off the ground and thrown away like a massive tumbleweed.

Shina's aura showed signs of cracking down to the center, causing her to squirm but hold on even tighter. Then from the towering clouds of embers and smoke was a tsunami of flame born, sent out to sweep away all that still happened to live or breath around it. The wave crashed into the relatively ant-sized pocket of aura and after just five seconds of bearing down upon it shattered it to pieces and swept the two away, their bodies so overwhelmed from the heat and power of the flames that their minds briefly shutdown.

An undisclosed amount of time later, Shina let out a dry mumble and peeled her eyes open. Her body shook all on it's own a couple of times, writhing in pain, and yet functioned enough to allow her to start pushing her body upright. Her legs had difficulty at first propping themselves up, leading to her almost tumbling flat onto her face, but she found that her efforts weren't being helped by where she had ended up.

Her body had been thrown into the shambled pile of scrap that was once the shuttle's warehouse, and a crumpled up wall had acted as her cushion. Overlooking her body, she saw that there were scrapes across the back of her legs that had reached the machinery underneath. Having forgotten what she was on this world for a moment, Shina let out a quiet gasp before reaching back and trying to apply a patch to the wounds with aura.

"We...we're alive?" She mumbled in welcoming surprise, though may have been a bit premature in her judgment call. She shot her head upright and looked around in a haste. It didn't take long to find X lying down in the debris, his eyes still in the same empty stare they were before.

With a quick breath of relief and a swipe of a the hand across her forehead she slid down the wall and hopped off it to land beside X, bending down to start pulling him up. While doing so, Shina looked up ahead and was left staring at what Eurasia's impact had caused. X too began to stir to life once more, his eyes looking on in both awe and fear of the devastation.

Everything was either thrown aside or destroyed, leaving a truly, truly barren landscape stretching for miles around. The ground had been smoothed out, and the sunset horizon had been replaced with an ominous violet haze. In the center of this widespread catastrophe there was a sharp pink light radiating from a fallen chunk of the Eurasia. Above all else, X found himself focusing on that light, and from it was drawn to his feet as though he was a puppet guided by strings.

He took a couple steps down to get off the mountain of debris, unaware of the scarring that plagued his armor, and once he was at the bottom Shina leapt down to join him.

"Hey...Hey! Earth to X...Are you alright?" She got in his way, and that seemed enough to snap him out of his trance for the time being.

"W-What?" X stumbled back two steps then raised a hand to his throbbing head, his voice tired and quiet.

"I...I...We were fighting Dynamo and then...Everything went black...My memory's a blur..." He shook his head and struggled to recollect his thoughts. Shina quickly deduced that the impact must have rattled his mind more than his physical state would imply, and was about to speak up when the two of them were contacted by an all-too gleeful Alia.

" _X! Shina! You made it! I-I can't believe you two managed to pull through!"_ She was on the verge of tears, and forgoed all professionalism in just that one moment. X lifted his head up and found his hand gliding towards the side of it, where he gave his partner a swift but honest inquiry.

"Alia...what...what happened?"

After a short pause followed up with a composing cough, Alia gave the two a report to the best of her ability, _"...Eurasia's impact wasn't as bad as we anticipated. Zero's collision destroyed enough of the space colony to lessen the damage to the surface. Unfortunately, while the casualties were kept to a minimum, a deadly toxin has begun to spread out from the debris of Eurasia. Commander Signas is already scrambling to get the humans underground before the toxin spreads too far out. A-And..."_

"What...?" X didn't want to know what came next, the news so far was already very hard to bear.

" _...Just take a look at the impact site."_

X and Shina turned forward and paid close attention to the sky. Thick, spotted violet trails conglomerated towards the remains of Eurasia from all directions, the lengths of them seeming to have no end in sight. It was as though whatever was inside of them were alive, acting as little more than a swarm of plankton guided by instinct to fulfill their purpose.

" _The Sigma Virus is gathering within the remains of Eurasia, which had also been infected with it's own virus. They're merging together and creating something new..."_

"A new...virus...?" X lowered his hand from the communicator and walked past Shina. Though miles away, X's enhanced sight allowed him to zoom in closer on the crash site, and from there he was able to discern the source of the strange pink light.

"Z-Z-Zero...?" His surprise was subdued for what he had seen, for caution reared it's ugly head and forced him to expect the worst of this sight. But there was no mistaking it. The red armor and golden ponytail could be made out, as was the sword attached firmly on his back. He was alive, he was unharmed, and yet...

"...Something's...wrong..." X murmured reeling back on his line of sight when Zero turned his head to peer over his right shoulder, revealing a pair of glowing red eyes whose gaze seemed to cross the distance and focus on X's location.

Then, as X's chest tightened up, Zero looked ahead and leapt into the crater whose edge he stood silently upon, taking the pale light with him. X's body shook, and his left hand raised to the front of his chest. He became uncertain of himself, and his fingertips kneaded against the spot where his heart would be.

"Was that...really Zero?" His lips began to quiver as Dynamo's words echoed in his mind, causing him to admit with an already defeated tone, "Maybe...I never really knew him after all..."

"X..." Shina turned around and looked him in the eyes with empathy, but still did not know what to say. That duty was left up to Alia, who spoke up without a moment's hesitation.

" _X...I don't know what's going on with Zero, but if there's anyone who can find out...It can only be you, his closest friend."_

"That's not true," Shina saw her cue to chime in, and took a step forward to place a caring hand on X's left shoulder while giving him a thumbs-up and wink, "You've got me and Alia to help ya out X. No matter what's waiting for us in that crater, we'll bring Zero back even if it means towing him out with a steel cable!"

"T-Thank you...both of you." X eased his hand down to his hip and gave a genuine, grateful nod. Shina giggled and cracked a smile, but then a sharp sensation bolted itself through her brain and caused her to swing her head back with a tensed up look in the eyes.

" _A-Alex...?"_ Looking skyward, she saw a small flaming speck dive through the sky towards Eurasia's crash site. The aura surrounding the flames belonged to the boy she knew, and yet there was something obscene and almost dreadful about the way it was being projected. There was not the divinity of a god behind those wretched flames, only the raw stench of death followed the boy into the crater.

"..." Shina turned the rest of her body around and found her 'heart' racing until X approached her and asked, "Is something the matter?"

" _...Alex, why are you...?"_ Swallowing her nervousness with a deep gulp, Shina forced a smile and shook her head before responding to X, "L-Looks like I've got a couple of reasons to help ya out now X. Come on, lets get going!"

With a nod of the head from X, the two kicked off and flew towards the crash site, knowing not the terrors and truths that awaited them inside...

 _Next Time: The Lost Past_


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: Legacy of Hatred**

The world was silent after the remains of Eurasia impacted it, with not even a single cloud in the sky budging its way around. As X and Shina got closer to the crash site, they noticed as the trails of the Sigma Virus began to disappear upon reaching the edge of the crater, leaving not even an iota of their existence intact.

The colony had lodged itself into the ground like a square peg fitting through a round hole, raising up all the rock that surrounded it to create a thick perimeter that only someone who could fly would be able to breech. The two levitated over the crater and peered inside just to be certain they weren't diving head-first into yet another trap. Instead, they were left mystified by what awaited inside.

The ground had caved in to form a chasm of immeasurible depth, far beyond what should have been expected even after Eurasia had struck it. The innards of the chasm were this strange mish-mash of reality and fiction, as the physical landmass that composed the circumference of the crater was in the midst of being transmogrified into pure lines of code that cascaded down the walls like the Niagra Falls. In the center of the crater were a series of ledges and crevices with a solid mass, yet the foundations were transparents and patterned after circuitry, their appearance guiding X to them with an alluring presence.

"What's...happening here?" X's mouth was held agape in awe as he stayed just twenty feet above the crater, basking in the azure light that shot forth like the rays of a morning sun. Shina held her lips together in a neutral pucker while using her scouter to try and gauge the crater's energy output.

The lens of her scouter quickly began to fizzle out as numbers stretched across the breadth of her left eye's vision, forcing her to pull it away before her brain became overloaded. With a shake of the head she murmured, "There's so much data, it's almost like the real world's becoming one with the internet."

" _You're not far off the mark there Shina, even though I wish you were..."_ Alia replied in a rather perturbed manner, _"I don't know how to explain this phenomenon. Somehow, such a heavily concentrated quantity of the Sigma Virus has warped the fabric of reality and caused cyberspace to manifest itself in our world."_

"Is it even safe to go inside?" X pondered.

" _..."_ Alia could be heard murmuring to herself in the background of the comms link, perhaps hesitant to make a judgment call on this matter.

" _...We don't have a choice. Right now the breeching of cyberspace into our world is quarantined in this area, but who knows what'll happen if we let it persist. Not to mention..."_

"Zero's somewhere inside..." X finished her sentence with a shaking hand resting atop his buster. Shina laid a comforting hand on his shoulder and got him to stop, offering him a small smile to try and brighten his mood.

"Don't worry X, we'll find Zero, I know we will!" Though she spoke with the utmost certainty, deep-down she too was feeling hesitant to enter the crater knowing that Alex had already made his way inside. After X looked back down at the crater, she closed her eyes partway and did well to hide an internal sigh.

" _I'll be right here as well X. Until the mission's complete, I'll always be here for you."_ Alia's remark completed the moral support that X needed to hold his head up high and remove any hesitations he may have had at the moment.

"Thank you, both of you...Now, lets go and find Zero, and stop the one responsible for all this madness!" Upon finishing that declaration, X deactivated the jets of his Falcon Armor and let gravity send him plummeting into the crater. Shina followed suit, but dove down for a faster descent to reach the first platform before the Hunter.

The two took a second to observe the immediate area, finding that the light in cyberspace far eclipsed that of the sun outside. X went to the edge of the ledge and bent down, noticing that there were a couple bipedal pods walking about.

"Even the cyberspace programs are coming to life." He remarked with a quiet, disturbed tone. Shina stepped up to the edge to the left of him and bent down, propping an aura rocket launcher over her left shoulder and firing upon the two programs to blow them up. Their pieces went flying up near where they stood, and after dispelling the weapon Shina brushed her hands free of any smoke.

"They're just as paper thin as the other Mavericks we've fought, so there ain't nothing to worry about!"

"I'm not worried about those..." X stood up and hung his head down while remarking, "But who knows what else might come out of cyberspace?"

"...Well!" Shina summoned a pistol and held it below X's chin, giving it a couple taps to help prop the head up, "Then it's important to keep our heads held high!"

"Uh-huh." He had no disagreement to speak of, and Shina's ever-glowing optimism kept rubbing off him. Thus, with the path below cleared, the two leapt further into the cyberspace, leaving 'reality' far behind. After going down a couple floors with an intense focus, X's vision began to change.

Within just the span of the blink of an eye, he saw the lifeless cyberspace transform into the innards of a metallic factory. The walls were sleek and blue but with little in the way of light, but through this dimly lit atmosphere X could make out make out some reddish walls whose lights flickered on and off every two seconds. With just another blink, the environment around him had returned to looking like cyberspace, and his body began to slow down until he was no better than a statue.

"...Huh?" X's pupils shrank and his body was riddled with a fuzzy sensation, almost as though he was embraced by the pure static coming from a television set. He raised his right hand up to before his chest and then blinked again, yet nothing changed. Even for how brief the vision was, X could recognize all the sensations he experienced at that moment. Everything about that factory was familiar and yet at the same time not, making him believe that he was a phantom in someone else's body.

Before running off the edge of the current platform, Shina stopped and turned around the moment X's heavy footsteps went mute, dashing back to check up on him.

"Are you alright X?" She inquired while staying perfectly still. With a steady flinch the Hunter lowered his hand and looked up, wanting some certainty that he wasn't starting to go insane, "Shina, is there anything...off to you about this place?"

"Off?" Shina fluttered her eyebrows a couple times then tilted her head up, tapping a pistol against the back of her head while looking around, "Now that you mention it, I'm not sensing any aura coming from this place. It's almost like like we've walked into a morgue..."

"So you didn't see any changes?" X inquired with a puzzled perking of his eyes. Shina shook her head quickly a few times then responded with a blunt "Nuh-uh!"

"...Hmm..." X closed his eyes and tried to recall what he saw one more time, but the memories refused to return. It was just like that nightmare he had been experiencing lately, just a phenomenon outside his ability to control. A frightened concern towards those uncotrollable thoughts left him rattled for a couple seconds, but he decided not to linger on them for long.

"Sorry, I-I must have been seeing things..." With an earnest apology he opened his eyes and was greeted by Shina's smile.

"Don't mention it X. It's been a tough day for ya, I get that!" She offered her sympathies but seemed oblivious to what was truly bugging him, "Once we get Zero back though, everything'll be a-OK!"

"R-Right..." X stuttered with a hesitation to move forward, yet an unknown force dragged his concrete heavy legs off the ground and pushed him onward. The two then descended deeper into cyberspace.

Upon landing on a lone platform in a more open space, X and Shina noticed some compact tunnels blending in with the walls. Shina paused for a second and saw them flashing, murmuring out to herself, "These look familiar..."

X froze up again, this time the memories clawing their way to the surface and causing him to grit his teeth and contort the right side of his face upward.

"Ghhh...GAH!" He saw the factory once more with a similar setup as what he saw now in cyberspace, and through these strange memories X could see the tunnels becoming filled with a bright, burning light that fired out fast in the form of a laser. As the person he experienced these memories through began to hustle off the platform, X snapped back to reality and then turned himself around.

"MOVE!" X thrust himself forward with his jet boosters and rammed Shina in the back with his elbow, throwing her off the platform while she let out a couple swift gasps of shock. The laser X saw, only green instead of yellow, fired out of the tunnel a second later and melted right through the wall opposing it.

Even with X's weight pulling her down like an anchor, Shina spun around and popped her eyes open upon looking at the laser, "Oh right...those things!"

A tense grunt from X grabbed her attention next, and she looked down to see him biting his teeth down in pain while laying a hand on his throbbing head.

"X?! Hey, X!" She couldn't snap him out of it, and that was no good considering there were more lasers awaiting them.

"Dhh...!" She spun her left arm back and kept X wrapped around her right, and with some quick thinking she created a gun that could fire a bouncy bubble up ahead. With it, she's able to hold onto X in both arms and bounce onward to the next area of descent, the bottom-most lasers only managing to singe a few needless hairs off the top of her frazzled head.

Then, after one sharp plummet into a lower chamber, Shina's stomach experienced the full brunt of X's weight and she spat up quite a bit of spit and began coughing to regain control of herself. X shook his head and then pushed himself up, taking a moment before realizing that he was using Shina's bare abdomen for support.

"Ooooh..." She groaned while laying a hand on the side of her head, using an elbow to try and prop herself up. With a bit of a forced smile, she giggled and closed her eyes before saying, "Ow. That...smarted a bit..."

"Sorry about that..." X stood and extended his hand to help her stand back up.

"Don't be! You got us out of the way right in the nick of time!" Shina gave him a solid nod of the head and then said, "See what I meant about keeping your head up high?"

"B-But I didn't..." X's murmurs were soon drowned out by a heavy distortion of noise entering his ears, as a voice attempted to communicate with him and Shina.

" _H...e...zzzz...X...X...X! Shina! Can you hear me?!"_

"Alia? What's going on?" Shina picked up first.

" _That took some brute-force..."_ She let out a sigh of relief before explaining, _"This isn't good. The deeper you head into cyberspace, the harder it is for me to get a signal."_

"The influx of data must be responsible. How much longer do you think you'll be able to stay connected?" X wondered next.

" _...Hard to say. But I'll try and stay as long as I can,"_ Alia then pressed on to a more important matter, _"Right now though, be on the look out up ahead. I'm detecting Zero's signal close by."_

"Zero's...close by?" X's eyes widened for a brief second and he turned around, about ready to sprint off when all of a sudden he saw Zero standing atop the nearby steps. The distance between the two made it difficult to see him fully, but not hard enough to call out to him.

"Zero! ZERO!" He screamed twice, each more louder than the last, and Zero began to turn around on the spot. However as X ran closer, his pace began to slow, as 'Zero' got clearer and clearer. The visage of 'Zero' shook like newly formed static, their bodies a pure and pale violet with only their glowing red eyes being any different. The moment 'Zero' laid their eyes on X, they flew right off the steps and straight towards the Hunter, their appearance shifting between what X was familiar with now and what Zero looked like in the past.

It took a second for X to raise his buster and fire, but his shaky charged shot was joined with by a few bullets from Shina's pistols in order to puncture 'Zero' and dispel him from sight. As the sight of 'Zero' vanished, X's body tensed up and he let out a couple pants by the time Alia contacted him again.

" _...I-It was a perfect match. I'm sorry X."_

"Hrrgh..." X was already being drained of his will to continue onward, and he had barely gotten far into cyberspace. Familiarity betrayed him, recollections of the unknown restrained him, and even he wasn't certain if finding Zero was the right thing to do.

" _That must have been a result of the viruses merging together. In which case, it'd probably be a good idea to call it the Zero Virus, and this area you're in the 'Zero Space'."_

"Same deal applies to this virus right? If you see it, then it's best to run away from it like the dickens?" Shina pondered.

" _I'd imagine so. But if there's any saving grace, at least you CAN see this virus."_

After that bit of advice from Alia, the two continued onward, though it took a second for X to gather the motivation to do so. Passing through the short bit of hallway up ahead, X was almost paralyzed with fearful anticipation for more memories to rise to the surface. By the time the two reached the next area of descent, not a single one had plagued his mind.

Shina looked back and noticed how silent X was being. His earlier looks of pain hadn't been ignored by her, but she didn't know how to address him yet. After a couple blinks, she looked back and then peeked over the edge, noticing that there were more of those laser tunnels up ahead.

"Alright X, we're probably going to need to act fast. Are you up for this or should I carry you down?" By the time she turned back around X pulled his slumped head up and looked at her with a stern glance.

"I can handle myself just fine. You don't need to weigh yourself down." He insisted with a melancholic droll to his voice. Shina paused and then nodded her head, smiling before spinning around.

"Ok then, but lets go together. These lasers seem to react to the first movement." She waited at the tip-toe edge of the floor for X to join up with her and leap down. Sure enough, right as they reached the bottom they had only a second to find out which way to go and sprint away from the lasers that fired right at them.

The two descended through multiple floors of this strange domain, the timing between lasers getting shorter and shorter to the point that they were twisting their bodies like pretzels just to keep pressing on. Though only a few seconds had passed, the pressure of the lasers made the two feel as though they were fighting a long-winded battle. Nearing what appeared to be the halfway point of the chasm, however, Shina landed on her right foot in such a manner that the ankle twisted up and caused her to fall down.

"Ow! Now's not the time for this!" She cried out in bitter pain while X hastily bent down and tried to pick her up, the lasers bearing down on both the front and back of his body. Glaring left and right in a panic, he blinked once and his vision began to shift back to that factory, with the person in question dealing with a similar predicament by themselves. However, now he was able to hear the person's voice, and they sounded like a younger, more energetic version of X. With these memories flowing into his brain, X grit his teeth shut and screamed at the same time as the memory.

" _T_ I _M_ E _S_ T _O_ P _P_ E _R_!"

Time froze to a standstill around X and Shina, with the atmosphere's color palette warping into the opposite hues. However, the change in color tore apart like paper being tugged at from both ends, and for a brief second the atmosphere returned to it's normal shade with a series of sparkles spread about. Then, it snapped back to normal, and X dropped to his knees with both hands planted on the ground.

"Ha...ha...ha..." His breaths were ragged and confused, and he bite his teeth together while his mind strained to pull itself back together. He twisted his head towards Shina, who was in the midst of pushing herself back up, and asked, "Are...you alright?"

She looked around and saw the lasers were frozen in place, unable to be a threat to anyone unless they were foolish enough to touch them. As her right foot dangled limp against the ground, she cracked a smile at X and said, "I-I'm fine...Can't walk, but I can still fly. How about you?"

X propped himself up and looked around, noticing how time had stopped. The way it had stopped, however, seemed off to him in a way he couldn't explain.

"Say X, are you sure you're alright? You used the Dark Hold but called it the Time Stopper..." Shina's cause for concern grabbed X's attention towards her, and he found himself telling her off bluntly, "I'm fine!"

Shina jerked back a little and then stared X in the face, which began to twist up in regret. He looked down and turned his head to the left, trying to divert the subject by stammering, "I-I...We need to get a move on, I can't keep this up for long..."

"S-Sure!" Shina shook her head and then the two flew down the remainder of the shaft as fast as they could, reaching the bottom floor right as X's Dark Hold stopped being active. Then, while X looked up and watched the lasers fire out to bar their way back, Shina sat down and clasped her broken foot in both hands.

"At least there's one good thing about being a Reploid..." She poked her tongue out from the right of her mouth and gave her foot one hard tug to adjust it back into place, though her eyes widened into a painful wince as she did so, and the joints snapped hard enough for X to see reason to look down and make sure she was ok.

"...I-I don't need splints to fix a broken foot..." Shina pulled herself up with her eyes twitching, then faced X's general direction and saw that there was another corridor up ahead. He turned around and stared down it, from his lower perspective being able to notice that there were some more lasers in the ceiling up ahead.

He didn't have the energy for another Dark Hold at the moment, so he made the right judgment call in declaring, "Lets fly straight through!"

The two kicked off and fired on all cylinders through the corridor, piercing straight past every laser that came in their way. Upon evading them all, they flipped so their feet were pointed down and made one swift landing before a sliding steel door. It's presence was odd in this environment, not helped by the data flow stopping and causing the atmosphere to become a foreboding pitch black.

"...There's something up ahead." X remarked as he began to head for the door. Shina curled her lower lip up and followed after him, knowing all too well what lied ahead. She stayed a foot behind him the whole time they went down the hall, having her pistols up and ready for battle. Upon reaching the end of the hall, the door slid open, and the two were now at a dead end.

"This can't be right." X noted the flaw in this end-point right away. There was only one path for them to traverse, and that could only mean that the real Zero should have been there waiting for them. But there was nothing, not even a tiny crevice to crawl through. Shina looked around as X went to investigate the center of the room, raising a hand to his helmet to try and contact Alia.

" _Zzzzzttt..."_ There was no connection. Now his only company was the girl behind him. He started to turn to the left to speak to her while letting out a sigh, but found himself being forced to pause as the background of this room began to distort. A shrill static-y sound ripped echoed throughout the room, as a violet backdrop with an icon vaguely resembling a "W" appearing in the center.

X raised his hands up and began to tremble, with every blink in mind retracing steps he hadn't known he'd taken as he saw more than ten different fortresses appearing in his mind, each one carrying that very same icon on the front.

"What's...happening...?!" X growled out in a bewildered rage as his mind was ripped to shreds, forcing him to grip the sides of his head and shake it around in an attempt to get it to stop. He fell to his knees and curled forward, letting out a pale and anguished scream.

"X!" Shina ran up to him right away, failing to notice the "W" in the background until she had knelt down beside him. Once she did so, everything pieced itself together in her mind on the spot.

" _Knowing about those lasers...Calling the Dark Hold by another name...His reaction to that symbol...C-Could it be that X has-"_

Before she could finish her thoughts, Shina sensed a new presence approaching and stood up, turning around and crossing her guns to summon a barrier large enough to protect her and X.

"S-Something's coming!" She tried to stay strong for his sake, peering past the thin composition of her aura to watch as bits of the wall pulsated open and spherical globs of black liquid pushed their way through one after another. However, instead of homing-in on Shina, they made a noticeable effort to push around her and X and gather in the back of the room. Each glob stopped in place and took upon a more cube-like form, wobbling around until there were sixteen set up in a square shaped grid.

Then, the globs dissolved into a bubbly, puddle-like mass akin to boiling oil. From the puddle, something began to stretch out and turn into a cohesive golem. It's central body was a large, perfect sphere, and it's limbs consisted of two legs with rounded kneecaps and toe-less feet and thick arms with flat-pointed fingertips. The center of it's body opened, revealing a pitch black oval with a glowing red iris and a single unmoving pupil. It stared down at the two, but seemed more focused on X between them.

X twisted his head and tried to stand up, but his mind continued to be ripped asunder while looking upon this colossus. He raised his buster up without thinking, leaving it shaking due to his vision being as blurry as the backdrop. The golem didn't say a word and continued to stare down. It didn't have emotions or thoughts to give, it existed just to be an obstacle. Thus, it came as a bit of a surprise more than usual when the strange violet aura erupted around it, and it's reddish eye darkened with a deepened sense of malice.

"Again?! This is ridiculous!" Shina was a little frustrated at the other being's interference, especially since X was already in dire straits from everything else. After a few more seconds of staring each other down, the room they were in began to expand until it was doubled in size.

"...H-Huh?" Shina was taken aback by the sudden change in space, but that would last only a couple seconds as a large rift tore itself open on both sides of the golem's body. Through the left rift, globs of yellow muck began to shoot out and form into a square-like grid just like the first. Meanwhile, a mechanical floating eye hovered out of the right one, bringing with it a series of gelatinous green spheres that gathered around it in the same manner as the other two did.

The globs formed into golems of similar build as the black one, though the yellow one lacked a pupil in it's eye and was not as slick in appearance, while the green one kept it's eye buried in the center of it's body and had a heftier build.

" _T-Three Devils?!"_ Shina froze up with a panicked widening of the eyes, though her reaction was very tame compared to X's. His mouth stammered, trying to fight the urge to speak the names of the two newcomers, "Y-Yellow...Devil...G-Green...Devil..."

His mind was a storm, tearing apart his sanity with merciless intent as memories of the past began to scatter about. As he fought the urge to scream with all he had, the three Devils acknowledged each other with a sliding gaze to the sides of their eyes. Then, with but a budge of their heads forward, the Yellow and Green Devils erupted with the same violet aura while the Shadow Devil plunged it's hands into their sides.

Through the fingertips, the Shadow Devil sucked the mass of it's counterparts into his own form, growing larger with every pulsating bulge outward until it was at least one and a half times taller than it was before. The individual Devils were gone, becoming one single being with patches of all three composing a frightening, towering mosaic that had the same build as it's parts. The center of this Fused Devil remained shut for only two seconds, but then opened with a gooey split to reveal a wide, grotesque eye that had the red eyes of the Yellow and Shadow Devils overlaying each other while the metallic eye of the Green Devil was centered between them, being the only one that actually blinked.

" _Gghhll..."_ The merged monstrosity let out a deep gargle and concentrated it's gaze back down on X, whose panic attack was less severe now that the creature was but a sum of it's parts.

" _Kkkrrrkkk..."_ Then the Fused Devil began to click, like a machine coming to life for the first time, _"Rrrrrroooocckkk..."_

"...W-What did you just say...?" X mumbled while keeping the buster aimed at the monster's face.

" _...Kekekeke...Mega...Man..."_

"Khhh...!" X grit his teeth yet again, but Shina shot down the Fused Devil's infantile whispers by yelling out to the Hunter, "Don't let'em distract you! They're just an obstacle in our way!"

"I'm not! I-If this creature is impeding us, then we'll just take it down like any other Maverick!" X proclaimed, focusing the buster towards the golem's strange eye with a stern and angered glare, "Focus it's eye! That's it's weakness!"

"You got it!" Shina yelled out with plenty of spunk before kicking off the ground and levitiating in the sky, switching to a more useful sniper rifle and cocking both trigger and barrel towards the Fused Devil's eye. With an unhesitant pull of the trigger the piercing round was fired off straight ahead. The skin of the Fused Devil boiled, and the gelatinous green pushed forth to create a protective layer in front of the eye that absorbed the bullet of aura and kept it a centimeter from breeching.

Shina poked her head up a bit then saw the bullet pushing back, upon which she shifted her body to the left to dodge it's rebound. She then glanced past the left side of her head and spun around, parting her rifle to create two miniature grenade launchers. A glint of light appeared in the Fused Devils' pupils, and upon throwing it's arms aside it fired a triangle beam consisting of three circles straight towards Shina.

Shina whipped back on her weapons and pulled her body to the right as the edge of the beam burned past her left arm. The beam melted through the wall like butter, short-circuiting the datascape to the point of causing the "W" icon to vanish from sight.

As the laser cooled down, X took flight and shot a few pellets of energy towards the eyes, then followed up with a charge shot. The Fused Devil let the first shots bounce of it's eyes then plastered the green goo over it to reflect the charge shot back towards X. The Hunter looped around the shot then leaned forward, shooting a couple more charged shots as fast as he could create them. The bulge in the goo evened out and absorbed both attacks before pushing them back in a combined form.

X stalled in place and crossed his arms to protect himself, being blown back ten feet before he thrust his boosters back to stop. Shina joined at his side and summoned her sniper rifle again, proclaiming in a haste, "Lets attack it together!"

X thrust his buster up and began charging right away, the two combining their piercing bullets together into a spiraling projectile that rammed itself into the protection the Fused Devil had and began to drill itself in. The giant froze in place for a second then slammed it's hands up in the ceiling, spreading it's mass out across it like flowing magma.

Before the piercing bullet could breech the Fused Devil's defenses, the giant pooled every molecule of it's being into the ceiling, including it's eyes. From there, the eyes stirred around, fixating itself on it's two opponent as X thrust his buster up and fired a couple blobs of frozen goo to try and hold the eyes down. Shifting around like a fish in the water, the eyes evaded every attempt to be frozen before stopping directly above X.

Then, the goop began to fall down in the form of body-sized globs, hammering X and Shina out of the air as though they were little more than insects in the rain. The two were pinned to the ground by the sticky, hefty weight of the globs, which began to form into the shape of it's hands before the rest of the body reformed and applied a greater pressure upon them.

The Fused Devil then focused it's gaze upon X, it's eyes glowing bright as it prepared to fire another laser down. The Hunter was squirming to break free, with even his arms pinned down, but the golem's limbs were as thick as concrete. Shina had better luck on her hand, as her right arm had managed not to be pinned down, and the Fused Devil cared too much about X to notice that she had any freedom.

" _This is risky, but I have to try!"_ With few seconds to spare, Shina created a grenade launcher and pinned the barrel to the side of the Fused Devil's hand. Though her hand was shaky, she closed her eyes and prayed for her safety as she pulled the trigger. The explosion blew off most of the goop and freed up enough of her body to allow her to fly out, but scarred the top of her shoulder.

The Fused Devil still didn't care and was a second away from firing it's laser down. Shina aimed her grenade launcher up and started to pull on the trigger, but midway through doing so the golem fired its laser down towards X.

"X!" Shina yelled out but fired the aura grenade out anyways, striking the side of the Fused Devil's face with an explosion great enough to shift it's bulky frame to the left. The laser was diverted away from X's body, carving a seething gash through the floor and walls. The Fused Devil stopped firing and then jerked it's head back with a malicious glare towards Shina, where it then swung it's free hand up and pinned her against the wall, tightening and spreading it's grasp to ensure she wouldn't break out this time.

"Gh...GHHH!" Shina bit her teeth down and stretched her head back, her innards beginning to get crunched together from the pressure. X looked up, bearing the weight of sheer frustration on his mind towards his helplessness. He could budge his fingers just enough to tighten them into fists, the pain of both the Fused Devil's weight and the memories that flowed into him too excrutiating to bear.

" _...Zzztt...X...!"_ A faint cry breeched the Hunter's ears, and snapped him out of the pain for just a moment.

" _X...Send...Gae-...-mor...This is...m-...la-...mess...e...I...Plea...ma...ke...it...ba..."_

Alia's message to X was clear enough for him to decipher, and he widened his eyes with a fierce determination as a light flushed down through the datascape above and slammed down onto his body. X could feel the struggle Alia put herself through as the data of this new armor bound itself to his body. She fought tooth and nail to penetrate the defenses of this strange dimension, all because she believed in him and what he could do.

"I won't...give up!" X's proclaimed through the grueling pain as the light flushed itself through the room, blinding the Fused Devil and causing them to let out a creaking groan. The light thinned out until there was little more than a glimmer left, and from there the Fused Devil watched as it's arm began to be pushed back into it's body. Around the grasp of it's palm now was a green energy barrier that it couldn't break no matter how hard it tried to squeeze.

Inside of it lied X, now wearing a tankier armor with a white and grey palette. He projected the barrier out from his palms, and kept it up until he was fully upright and able to stare down the Fused Devil with a fiery glare. He knew exactly what he was doing this armor, and thus wasted little time in firing the barrier off as a projectile that punctured right through the golem's arm and detached the whole thing from the shoulder.

" _Ghhhlllgggg...!"_ The Fused Devil was in noticeable pain, as though a burning sun had lodged itself through it's body. It then aimed it's sights on X and fired another laser, only for the Hunter to cross his arms and absorb the brunt of it's power without budging even a centimeter.

The energies of the Fused Devil were outputted for only a couple seconds before it gave up, and X then proceeded to thrust his hands out and exclaim, "DISAPPEAR...FOR GOOD!"

From his body X poured raw energy into a compressed green and black sphere as big as his body, firing it off at speeds faster than a rocket taking off. The Fused Devil tried to protect itself with the green goo, but the projectile burned right through it and destroyed it's monstrous eyes without mercy. The projectile kept flying, ramming through the depths of cyberspace and burning a tunnel all the way to the outside, the innards of which were full with a distorted static.

The remaining mass of the Fused Devil held it's composition for a second, then became a gooey puddle on the ground that burned down to a hazy black smoke in the air. X stood in place and panted, having pushed forth more energy than he had expected. As Shina was freed from the wall and landed on the ground, the Hunter fell to his knees once more, though this time it only took him a couple seconds to try and push himself back up.

"You alright, X?" Shina's voice was the only thing to give him comfort now in these trying times. She supported him under the shoulders and pushed him to his feet, upon which he cracked a smile and said "Thank you..." with an honesty he was almost too tired to give.

"You...didn't have to come along, but you did...And-"

"I'm not going to abandon a friend in need X. That's just not who I am!" Shina responded with a chipper smile.

"But Alex..."

"I-I'm sure he'll be fine," Shina interrupted with a little quietness, "Z-Zero needs our help first."

"Hmmm..." X let out a dull hum and then freed himself from Shina's grasp with a light brush-off. He looked out towards the backdrop and saw the icon was gone, then he moved towards the wall on the opposite side of the room and rested his right hand upon it.

"There has to be a way out of here..." He glided his palm along it to try and find anything out of place, even a tiny button would suffice. Shina kept her distance and tried to look around for anything suspicious on the floor or ceiling. After a few seconds of looking around, however, the area began to quake and the ground below Shina's feet began to rise.

"W-What the?!" She proclaimed, hopping back away from the edge as the platform shot up through the ceiling with her still on it, cutting her off from X before she had a chance to get down. X spun around and ran to the near wall that had form, pounding against it while proclaiming the girl's name in a panic.

"I'm alright X! I-I've just been sent to a different area!" Shina said, frazzled but otherwise unharmed.

"This place is changing...Is this because we defeated that golem?" As X pondered that, a noise caused him to look back, watching as multiple walls parted open like sliding doors and invited the Hunter to go deeper into it's domain.

With a narrow glare down the new hallway, X cocked his new buster up before his waist and yelled out, "I'm going on ahead! Hopefully these new pathways meet up again later down the line..."

"Got it!" Shina proclaimed, "Please be careful X!"

Then, as he footsteps scurried off to parts unknown, X was left with nothing but himself and the silence that permeated the Zero Space. He walked forward, his body cautioning him of the danger like many hot needles puncturing his frame, and yet did not pause for even a second. Something was guiding him onward, and he could feel it in his heart that a terrible truth awaited him up ahead...

 _Next Time: The Truth of 100 Years Ago_


	14. Chapter 13

X continued onward at a sluggish pace all by himself. His feet were as thick and heavy as weighed anchors, dragging his body forward like a ship plowing through floes of ice. The silence in cyberspace began to fade away after a minute of walking, with the environment turning a subdued dark red and the floor slumping into a downward slope. The frequency of the data flow in the background transformed, now resembling a black hole as all the data was swallowed inward towards an unknown force.

X looked down towards the bottom of the slope, finding that the passage beyond had a ceiling lined with digitized spikes and a floor filled with deep, perilous gaps. Looking at his Gaea Armor, he recognized the vulnerability he had as far as his speed went, and thus decided to try and take it off. Closing his eyes and concentrating inward, he focused on "storing" the armor inside of his databanks, and with a flash of light the armor complied. Now he was without armor, and thus could continue on with the superior mobility he had come to expect by now.

Even still, he began his descent into this next stretch of cyberspace with a cautious stroll, leaning his buster down past his waist while grasping the barrel around his other hand. His shakiness had subsided for the time being, but with every step X's paranoia towards experiencing another one of this strange flashbacks only grew. In turn, he found his gaze scanning every corner of the passage he traversed without so much as a conscious effort to do so.

Nothing seemed to trigger another episode this time around, so once X reached the very bottom of the slant he breathed a sigh of relief and murmured, "Maybe that was just a one-time thing..."

He parted his arms back to the sides and kicked up the pace with a stern glare forward, guided only by his raw instincts. Alia wasn't there to alert him of what's to come, Shina wasn't at his side to help fend off an enemy attack, and Zero...

"...Ghhh." X wasn't certain what to think when it came to Zero now. The two had fought side-by-side through thick and thin for a few years now, protecting the humans from too many Mavericks to count. But the revelation of who Zero was now haunted those memories like an unwelcome spectre. Countless hours X had spent questioning what made a Reploid go Maverick, only for the answer to have been right beside him the entire time.

How long did Zero know the truth before him? Why didn't Zero tell him? Why and how did the virus come from Zero in the first place? What is Zero's connection to everything that was happening within cyberspace, and why did he choose to come here alone?

There were too many questions piling on top of other questions that X still had no answers to, and the lone Hunter began to realize that it was an urgent, inescapable desire to find the truth that drove him forward. But his mind was left plagued with a conundrum of a contradiction. Though he desired the truth, a part of him also feared the discovery of it.

If Zero did turn out to be his enemy, then he would have no choice but to destroy him out of a sense of duty as a Maverick Hunter.

"But...he's...my friend." Though X had seen many allies turn Maverick, no more did this expression of friendship hold truer than with Zero. But the world didn't care how strongly the Hunter felt about this. The fact of the matter was that there seemed to be no living cure for the Sigma Virus. Destruction...was the only way to free a Reploid from it's malignant hold.

X squeezed his eyes shut and tightened his right fist up, unable to fend off the storm of doubts forming in his mind. Everything was just getting worse and worse for him with every passing second, his sanity taking a nose-dive into the darkest, darkest depths imaginable. What peace lied for him at the 'end' of this endless war? What was there to gain from all this savagery he was forced to endure? He wanted answers, he DEMANDED answers, but no one was there to comply. Because...

He was still... _alone_.

X started to lose a grasp on his surroundings. Everything became blurred and twisted, and he could no longer tell if he stood on solid ground or was adrift in an endless sea of nothingness. His hands crawled towards the sides of his head and held on tight while a sharp pain ground through his skull like steel nails to a diamond. He opened his mouth and began to howl in pain, while the rest of his body dropped to the ground in a knelt down heap, devoid of any semblance of weight.

Then his mind began to swirl, around and around like a carousel did his memories churn, and after a while some of them flew forth and plastered themselves to the front of his mind and let forth a series of tumultuous cries from the past.

" _Professor, please! Change me into a fighting robot!"_

" _Bwahahah! Your gusto means nothing to me Mega Man, for I am the ingenious Dr. W-"_

" _Your journey ends here! You will be defeated by the mighty Break Man!"_

" _How could you betray Dr. Light?! He trusted you!"_

" _Forgive me...Mega Man, but I have to do this for my daughter Kalinka's safety!"_

" _Why Proto Man? I thought we were brothers!"_

" _I, the nefarious Dr. X, shall succeed where that FOOL had failed!"_

" _He who hesitates is lost, Mega Man!"_

" _My name is Duo. I was born with the solo purpose to eliminate the evil energy from this universe."_

" _You won...Why do you fight so hard for these pitiful humans? Robots are superior to humans...!"_

" _You are...Mega Man...I am Sunstar...The doomsday weapon...I must destroy all inferior life forms!"_

" _It's time I turned my efforts to world domination. Why don't you join me, Dr. W-"_

" _I was saving it...in case a really...sick robot was brought in..."_

" _D-Doctor...I-I'm sorry...I...fffffaaaaillllled..."_

The hurricane of voices and images X didn't recognize came to an end on a somber note, as the repeating nightmare he had been experiencing returned for a brief moment, but only now was he allowed to witness the final moments of that event. Then, just like that, there was silence.

X could open his eyes and let out a hard gasp, pulling his head up while his hands were repelled away from it. Not even the faintest of echoes remained of the voices he heard, nor did he heard the hums of cyberspace around him. Forced to glare forward with eyes as wide as he were allowed, X saw the rim of a familiar capsule standing in front of him and began to raise his head all the way up. The capsule was open, Dr. Light's hologram stood inside of it, and he looked down upon his creation with a silent and neutral expression.

X stared at the doctor for a few seconds and then found his hands crumpling up into fists. His face twisted up into a scowl and he crunched his eyes down into a glare unbecoming of one usually so passive in demeanor. The constant flood of memories that weren't his, the strenuous doubts and hesitations, both sufficed in undoing the restraints that served to hold back a terrible, terrible rage.

"All these memories...They don't belong to me, do they?" At first his anger was subdued, as he gauged the response Dr. Light would give him. The doctor stuck to being silent, only serving to add fuel to the fire churning in X's heart.

Spreading his mouth open wide, X began to raise his voice and did not allow any respect or appreciation he had towards his creator hold him back, "And you knew I had them this entire time and never told me! I thought you trusted me, and that I could trust you too!"

Dr. Light began to close his eyes, his head slumping until the chin brushed up against the front of his neck. X's verbal assault began relentless, his voice racked with anguish and confusion, "You've hid so much from me that I don't even know where to start!"

"Why do I have all these memories?! Why was I really created?! Why did you commit suicide?! Have you known the truth about Zero all this time as well?!" X's voice was becoming a slobbering, incoherent mess, as though he was a human on the verge of tears. With a body trembling as though he could no longer contain his rage, the Hunter struck Dr. Light with one final, wounding question, "And who is he...? WHO IS MEGA MAN?!"

Dr. Light sealed his eyes up tight, and even as a hologram his hands appeared to drop to his sides as lifeless as a pair of a feathers. X swung his head up and revealed the full extent of how angered his expression was to his creator, looking more akin to a demon than a machine now.

"ANSWER ME...DOCTOR LIGHT!"

After one last outburst, X's head huddled down and he took in a few deep, hapless breaths. His entire body heaved with every puff of air he took in, and he appeared too tired to even budge a finger now. Still, he managed to fixate his gauge on the melancholic doctor, who began to open his eyes after letting out a sigh for a good ten seconds.

" _...I can never ask you to forgive me. Not after all the hardships you've had to endure, X."_ Dr. Light crinkled the skin between his brows with his right fingers and let out another sigh much heavier than the last.

" _But you must believe me when I say that I had every intention of telling you the truth someday. Never...in all my life, did I imagine that something like this would happen. This twisted, abnormal dimension should never have existed, nor should it have been the one responsible for..."_

There was a reflective pause that the doctor took before shaking his head and admitting, _"No...No more excuses. I have hid the truth from you for long enough. I am the only one to blame for what has happened to you, X."_

" _I cannot even BEGIN to imagine the pain you've gone through in having to experience memories that are in no way your own...But now the time has come for you know everything I can tell you about the past, and of the person who paved the way for your existence more than a century ago. Listen carefully, X, for what I'm about to tell you is the story of a pair of foolish friends divided by differing ideologies...And the robot who fought to find peace between them...This, my dear X, is the story of your older brother..."_

 **Chapter 13: Mega Man**

 _Every story has a beginning, but before we get to his we must start with mine. When I was young boy no bigger than a Met, I had a deep fascination with robotics and their potential towards the development of how we humans operate. I wanted to learn how they worked, determine how they could better serve our futures, and perhaps one day make some of my own._

 _I studied long and hard, day in and day out, and eventually the days turned into motnhs...and finally into years. I had a drive towards robotics and little else. Many of my colleagues were worried that was I was_ _ **too**_ _obsessed! All save for one, that is. Throughout my college years, I ended up becoming friends with a man by the name of Albert Wily. He saw my ambition as something worth striving for, and the two of us would come to share each other's work as our friendship grew stronger._

 _Once we graduated at the top of our class, we spent the next couple decades attempting to create the perfect robot, one who could think and feel like a human. At first, our attempts amounted to little more than failures. But it is only through failure that you learn how to succeed, and eventually our efforts resulted in the first automatrons to ever exist. They were simple machines, functioning only through the commands given to them, but at the time that was considered a revolutionary design._

 _However, though credit was thrown to the two of us for our creations, I had received far more than Albert did, and that would only prove to be the beginning of our divide. We continued to work together for a time, but as we developed more advanced automatrons for humanity I continued to receive more and more credit than he ever did. Eventually, Albert disappeared from my life without so much as a word..._

 _The next few years after that saw many triumphs for me in the field of computing and robotics, but also a slow and steady increasing in loneliness. Without Albert at my side, I began to realize just how many years I had already lost to this job of mine. Nearing my fifties, I had never found someone to love and settle down to have a family with. I had no other friends, and reigning at the top of the scientific world at the time earned me only scornful glares from my peers._

 _I was alone, and miserable. Thus, my mind relied upon the teachings I had learned over the years in an attempt to quell this loneliness. I created the first in a line of robots with a far more advanced A.I. than the automatrons of yore. As he was the prototype of this line, I decided to call him "Proto Man", and he and all his brothers and sisters would one day come to be known as Robot Masters._

 _Unfortunately, my first attempt at this kind of robot was a failure. Proto Man's core was heavily imbalanced, and a flaw in his personality design led to him gaining an incredible desire for independence. At the first opportunity, Proto Man fleed my laboratory and disappeared into the night, frightened that I, his creator, would strip away his individuality._

 _I was_ _ **devastated**_ _by his departure, and ashamed of myself for believing that I could replicate genuine love and affection through a robot..._

 _For a while after, I returned to the humdrum of life, unable to shake off my mind's desire to try and redo the process that had created Proto Man. Around the first turn of the 21_ _st_ _Century, I could no longer shake off these feelings, and decided to try again. This time, I reflected upon what I had done before in great detail, going over every minute part until not even the washers were untouched. Then, when I was absolutely certain about what I needed to do, I worked tirelessly to see my dream come to life. Until finally, sitting before my eyes, lied what would become my proudest achievement._

 _He was magnificent, an exemplary example of what robotics could achieve. To the unassuming eye, he looked just like any other human boy. His hair, his skin, his limbs...He was...perfect. And I shall never forget the first words he said to me upon awakening..._

" _Hi Dr. Light, how can I help you?"_

 _My eyes were in tears, and I wanted so much just to tell him that he had already done enough to help me just by existing. But I couldn't bring myself to do so, I was too emotional at the time. Instead, I welcomed the boy into the world by giving him the name "Rock". Rock would quickly become an assistant at my laboratory, and the two of us worked side-by-side as though he was my son. My spirits had been renewed, and with them I continued to work on creating more and more robots like Rock._

 _The next in line was Roll, Rock's sister. She was just as kind as her brother, but did not share the passion to science that he or I did. Instead, she preferred to ease the burdens of those around her by providing housekeeping services. With those two of them working together, the rate of which I created robots increased exponentially, and in time I was ready to unveil eight Industrial grade Robot Masters to the world. Cut Man, Guts Man, Ice Man, Bomb Man, Fire Man, Elec Man, Oil Man, and Time Man._

 _An event was planned in the city's park to celebrate my new achievement, and with Rock and Roll at my side we were prepared to take mankind one step closer to a new age of equality between man and machine. However, fate had other plans in mind. On the day of my unveiling, who else would I run into but my old friend Albert Wily. I could almost barely recognize him, for his hair had turned withered and grey, and he was far shorter than he was before._

 _We tried to catch up on old times, but I could tell that something was off about him. He showed a great deal of interest in my creations, especially Rock and Roll...Perhaps out of a loyalty to our time together, I said nothing about his presence there. A mistake I would come to regret time and time again..._

 _Right as I were to reveal the Robot Masters to the world, Dr. Wily struck as quick as a hawk on the hunt, and used some rather devious means to hijack control of all eight Robot Masters from me. He declared his intentions of conquest to the world, and made it perfectly clear how jealous and spiteful he was towards me for the credit I had received in the past. Wily sought to make the world understand his genius, by using MY creations to bring humanity to kneel at his feet._

 _My Robot Masters began to wreak havoc on the city, and I could do nothing to stop them on my own. Seeing the injustice of it all unfold, however, awoke a sense of justice within young Rock's heart. He begged me to transform him into a full on combat machine like the others were, and he would not accept no for an answer. The fear for what Wily would do to mankind if left unchecked overrode the fear I had towards losing my 'son', and I quickly relented._

 _Thus, with a bit of work, I granted Rock a set of armor very much like the kind you wear now X, and in turn implanted a variable weapons system into his mainframe. With it, he would be able to copy the powers of the Robot Masters he defeated, and use them to stop the others. Now that he had this armor, he decided to call himself 'Mega Man', a hero of justice._

 _Mega Man set out to stop his brethren from wreaking havoc in Wily's name, being forced to take them down one after another. Fighting for the first time was difficult at first, not at all helped by the fact that he was battling his brothers. Roll and I stuck back at the lab and offered him support through our intercoms system._

 _Then, Mega Man fought his way to Wily's fortress, confronting the mad doctor in his Wily Machine 1, and overcoming all the odds to defeat him. Wily claimed that he would change his ways afterwards, and I almost wish he was honest in his vow...But that was only the first of many battles._

 _Wily would bring chaos to the world time and time again, creating his own groups of Robot Masters to try and take over the world. Mega Man stood against every obstacle that got in his path and triumphed against Dr. Wily. And for every defeat, Wily's desperation grew and tore him apart from the inside, leaving just a hollow shell that yearned only for revenge against those who had wronged him._

 _...The Albert Wily I knew had already died long, long ago. Now all that remained was an evil doctor whose hatred was absolute. Rock vowed to continue fighting against all odds, and in spite of the countless battles his heart still remained as pure and innocent as it was the day I first created him._

 _Though Rock was comfortable with his circumstances, I was not. I wanted something better for my son than a world of endless battle, and I worried that humanity would start to fear robots as little more than machines designed for conflict. Thanks to the sinister deeds of Dr. Wily, the original purpose behind the Robot Masters were slowly being forgotten. So I decided to start creating something that would remind humanity of the good that robots are capable of. The next stage in robotic AI, even greater than that of the Robot Masters. A robot...who could think and feel EXACTLY like a human can._

 _Yes, it was around that time I began to construct your blueprints, X._

 _But as I began to work on you, our laboratory was attacked directly by Dr. Wily. I can remember the horror I felt as I exited the laboratory that day. He had crafted a titan entirely out of spare junk, and it resembled a disfigured skull. The sky was pitch black from the rain and lightning, and I could not make out even a single trace of the man I once knew within the machine. He had become fully engrossed in his self-destructive ambitions, and it drove him to make one last desperate attack against the biggest obstacles in his quest for world domination._

 _Mega Man charged into battle without a second thought, and for the first time in years I begged him not to fight. He told me to have faith in him, and gave me his last thumbs-up...And then, a nightmare unfolded before my eyes in reality, one of which I had no control over._

 _The monstrosity Wily crafted was far more powerful than Mega Man, capable of rendering every weapon he sent his way as worthless as crumpled up paper. Mega Man stood his ground even as Roll and I screamed for him to retreat. He didn't want Wily to win, he didn't want anyone to suffer his injustices any longer. He had determined, right from the start of this fight, that it would come down to either him, or Wily._

 _...Wily's insane cackles on that day...have been burrowed into the back of my mind ever since. His monstrosity of a machine ripped Mega Man from the ground and tore him apart piece by fragile piece, and with every part I watched splash down upon the muddy ground I could feel my own heart be fractured asunder. Like a tragic play, there was only one ending...But I only an observer of the events, not a participant._

 _After crushing, ripping, and brutalizing my son before my eyes, Wily had the audacity to gloat that he was triumphant. Then, he tossed Rock to the ground, treating him like a child would a rag doll. I ran into the rain against my better judgment, and cradled the remains of Mega Man in my arms. His body shorted out, only one eye remained, and his young, pure, and innocent expression was forever tainted by the deep tears that wounded his metallic face._

 _And as he laid dying in my arms, he could only apologize to me for his failures._

 _He...was the one who apologized. He was but a child, a victim in this horrific feud between two foolish old men, and yet HE was the one who apologized. I watched...my own SON's life get taken before my very eyes, and HE was the one who apologized! Him! Not the BASTARD who stole his life without remorse! I was furious X, blinded by rage! I cradled Rock in my arms and shook him in hopes that he would wake up and give me a smile one last time. But he didn't move, he didn't smile or frown or even cry! He couldn't X! Because that monster refused to give up, refused to accept defeat, he forced a father to outlive his own son! How could he do that X?! How could he let that happen...AND YET FEEL NO REMORSE?!_

…

…

…

 _...M-My apologies X. You...didn't deserve to see that._

 _When the realization of Rock's death fully hit me, I screamed Wily's name to the heavens in a blinding rage, only to find that he was a mere second away from stomping me into the dirt as though I was just another stepping stone on his path to world domination. And I could only look upon the metal and muck that composed that monstrosity with acceptance of what was to happen to me. I could not_ _ **live**_ _in a world without my one true son in it..._

 _But death didn't come to take me, not yet anyways. Faster than I could blink, I was swept off the ground and brought to safety to my lab. My rescuer? None other than the lost son who I had assumed abandoned me for good, Proto Man. He had made many appearances since the day he left my lab, sometimes as Rock's friend, other times as his enemy, but he always made it clear he had no intention of ever accepting my help again. And yet there he was, helping me in my darkest hour._

 _He didn't say a word to me on that day. He looked down at Rock's corpse, and his usual smirk disappeared. Then he faced Wily's monstrosity and leaped headfirst into it, grabbing on and refusing to let go no matter how much the machine rocked itself around. Using the power within his faulty energy core, Proto Man self-destructed on the machine with a blast so great, it wiped out every last scrap of junk that made up it's being._

 _His sacrifice...will haunt me until the day the whole world fades to black. It was cruel, it was unnecessary, and it was reflective of my failures as both a roboticist and a father. Ultimately though, his sacrifice was pointless. Wily, stubborn as a cockroach he was, survived the explosion with only his left eye lost to show for it. He lied within the ruins of his monstrosity and bellowed out a painful, indulgent laugh. And I will never forget the words he yelled to me on that day._

" _You're a FRAUD, Thomas! Nothing more than a dirty, rotten parasite feasting off MY brilliance! You always have been a THIEF and one day this worthless world will open their eyes and see you for what you are! And if they won't recognize it, then I will MAKE them see it! You think I am done...just because I have destroyed two of your worthless creations?! I won't rest, until every last nut and bolt of your designs are wiped clean from this world, and the world bows down to MY genius! History will be reset, returned to Zero, and from the ashes...DR. ALBERT WILY SHALL REIGN SUPREME!"_

 _There was nothing I could do to prevent him from crawling off like the worm he was. I was so stricken with grief that my legs were as heavy as lead, and my body as stiff and cold as newly refined metal. It took every ounce of effort I could muster just to stand up, let alone head back inside my laboratory. For the next few days, I sat in a chair and didn't eat even a scrap of food when offered such by Roll, who even in the midst of grieving tried her best to make me happy again..._

 _The image of my son, whose dirtied corpse I left lying on the ground before my chair, imprinted itself forever in my consciousness. What Wily had done would not escape my thoughts, and once again he had been allowed to escape. My mind began to descend down a dark, almost inescapable path, as I thought long and hard about how Mega Man should have been allowed to finish off the unrepentent doctor sooner. There was one moment, one instance, where he had almost broke through the Three Laws of Robotics to put an end to Wily's mayhem...But ultimately failed._

 _That moment wouldn't leave my thoughts as well, and I began to question if it was wrong to create a robot that was not bound to those Three Laws. I looked towards you, X, as my means of breaking those laws to exact revenge upon the man who robbed of me the lives of two of my sons. I was driven only by hatred. Hatred...and sadness._

 _I toiled for countless days and nights on your body, X, working to create a robot that could surpass all others. I couldn't sleep, I couldn't eat...I had to create you as soon as I possibly could, so that my sons would be avenged. My hands became bloodied as I scraped together every part I could within my own laboratory. My mind grew weary and battered from rage. And all that time, Roll stood at my side and continued to show concern for my well-being._

 _And for all her kindess, what did I offer in return? Screams of bloody anguish and rejection that scarred her fragile mind. Eventually, she could no longer stand what was happening to me, and yelled to me at the top of her lungs._

" _FATHER! STOP IT!"_

 _It was the first time she had called me that. Her pained cries reached me through the darkest depths, and pulled me out into the light once more. I looked at myself, shaking and in pain both physically and emotionally, and fell to my knees in tears._

" _What...what am I doing?!"_

 _I cried out, pleading to the heavens for answers._

 _What I was becoming was no better than the kind of man Wily was now. Were it not for Roll, bless her soul, who knows how far I would have gone in my pursuit for revenge. Roll stood at my side and helped me to my feet after I spent at least fifteen minutes crying, and then gave me a speech about how Rock would want me to live on and continue to help the world find peace...Just as I always used to._

 _Her words returned a bit of that elusive spark of inspiration to me, but as I looked towards your skeletal frame X...I wondered if I would truly be able to create a robot that could perfectly co-exist with humans. After pondering about the matter for a few days, Roll came to me with a suggestion. She offered me her own parts, and suggested that I use Rock's remaining ones as well._

 _Having already lost two of my children, I couldn't bear the thought of my last one sacrificing herself just to let my dream come to reality. Such behavior was inexcusable, but try as I might Roll stood up to my refusal with a calm and accepting tone. She said that was fine with this decision, because at least by doing this she would, in a manner of speaking, be reunited with her brother Rock. Not only that, but she would still be fulfilling her duties of helping me out._

 _...With heavy reluctance, I accepted her final request, and shut her off gently. Then, hers and Rock's parts would be salvaged and used in your creation, X. I worked as hard as I could, taking breaks for rest and to make my own meals, activities whose value I had not truly appreciated until Roll was gone. But by the time I had returned to a healthier lifestyle, stress had already begun to take it's toll. My body wore itself down, and it didn't take long before I had to adopt a cane just to get around._

 _But I wouldn't stop until you were completed. My children had sacrificed themselves to ensure that you would be born, and take the next step towards the equality between humans and robots. The first step towards that goal was to make it so you'd be able to think and empathize like a human. By combining the processor cores of both Rock and Roll into a single crystal, I was able to achieve the desired results. And not only that, but Mega Man's variable weapons system and copy chip were implanted into that crystal as well._

 _Once I applied that crystal to your forehead, you activated for the first time. But...I suppose you'd remember that moment, wouldn't you? It was the day I gave you your name, X._

 _Yes, X...A single letter that represents limitless potential. But for me, it meant a lot more than that. X can also refer to "Cross", and how apt a description is that for a robot who was a cross between two others who came before him?_

 _...For the first time in a long while, I cried tears of joy, even though I knew this happiness would not come to last. My frail old body was giving in, and though I knew I could push myself to see your creation through to the end, I would be unable to finalize your ethnical programming. Though you spoke of comfort, and justice, and peace...I knew letting out into the world so prematurely had the potential to frighten the humans, especially after all that Wily had done._

 _So I chose to seal you away deep underground, leaving behind a series of tests for your mind to process to ensure you were capable of being ready. I used Rock and Roll's memories as templates for these tests, and before I grew too ill to think straight I created a capsule and uploaded my consciousness into it...So when the time came for your awakening, I would always be by your side to guide you towards a brighter future._

 _...Then, I made my final decision in the world of the living. Fearing that the government of the world would seek to exploit you for their own ends, I decided to bury all traces of my research and development from the world forever. With myself still inside, I burned down my laboratory, effectively committing suicide. But it seems, in the end, that I did the right thing. You stand before me as proof of that, X..._

The story was done. It seemed to last for an eternity, when in truth only a few minutes had passed. Every detail, from the painstaking emotions of Dr. Light's recollections, to the truth about what led to his creation, X paid attention to it all and understood what it meant. With a weightlessness in his right hand, he raised it towards his chest and felt a warmth that was never there before.

"Roll and Rock are...a part of me?"

" _That's right X. You carry within you a legacy that has been left forgotten by history. Inside of you is a heart that yearns for justice, and a heart that desires happiness for all. But no matter who your parts came from, you are still you, X...And I wouldn't change that for anything in the world."_

X opened his mouth partway then looked Dr. Light in the eyes, which were trembling with pride. The hologram could not cry, even as it strained itself to smile.

" _I never wanted this kind of world for you, X. Even if we do not share the same flesh and blood, you are my son...And I will always want nothing but the best for you."_

X lowered his hand and shook his head, offering a sincere apology to the man who created him, "I'm...I'm sorry I yelled at you doctor. Now...now I get why you were hesitant to tell me about my origin. It's...difficult to accept that I was only created because others had to die to let that happen."

" _...Yes. Sometimes, I've wondered if you would ever have been created were it not for what happened on that fateful day..."_

"...Dr. Light, there's something about this story that's been bothering me more than the rest." X spoke up after a moment's hesitation. The hologram did not reply, for he knew what the inquiry would entail.

"This Dr. Wily person...He's Zero's creator, isn't he?"

" _...It's more than likely the case, yes. Ever since Zero stepped foot onto two of my capsules, I was able to detect some familiar technology that I knew only someone of Wily's caliber would be capable of creating."_

"Then...wouldn't that mean Dr. Wily is also responsible for the creation of the Maverick Virus?" X deduced, and as Dr. Light let out a tiresome hum he continued on to question the matter, "I don't understand. Wily's grudge was directed at you...Why would he create a virus that would bring ruin to the entire world?"

" _Because he wasn't just trying to prove his brilliance to me, but to the entire world as well. And ambition without sanity is a far greater danger than any robot either of us could hope to create. Beyond that, however, I can only speculate as to why that virus exists. After that day, I never saw or heard from Wily again."_

"There's something else I don't understand...Why am I the only one unable to be affected by the Maverick Virus?"

" _Hmmm...There was a similar virus that Wily had created all those years ago known as Roboenza. Rock and Roll both received vaccinations when they succumbed to the virus, and perhaps that anti-viral program evolved within your body over the years...Or, it could be that there is no flaw in your programming for the virus to exploit. Again, I can only speculate, X."_

"...Hmmm..." X lowered his head a bit, now capable of thinking with far greater clarity than ever before. He still had a lot of questions to ask, but for the time being he had started to unravel the truth behind not just his own past but Zero's connection to the Maverick Virus as well.

"I know what I have to do now." X raised his head and stood proud with his confidence, resting a spread hand atop the part of his chest where a heart would normally be.

He looked Dr. Light stern in the eyes and made his vow, "The world will never know peace as long as Wily's destructive will continues to linger in the form of the Maverick Virus. You created me to protect this world Dr. Light, and I will do everything in my power to stop his terror once and for all!"

" _...Are you truly up to the task, X? To destroy the Maverick Virus means to eliminate it's source of origin."_

"I'm not going to destroy Zero." X said with a certainty that took Dr. Light aback. Serene as a lakeside in the morning, X closed his eyes and had not a single crinkle across his metallic skin as he clarified his response.

"It's a cycle of revenge and destruction that started this endless war in the first place. If I destroy Zero to eliminate the Maverick Virus, then something worse is bound to take his place. I don't care how impossible it is, I'm going to **save** Zero!"

" _...I knew that would be your answer."_ Dr. Light closed his eyes and then by some miracle, his hologram walked off the capsule and stood beside it. Where his hologram once stood appeared the outline of another armor, this one exuding a great and terrifying power that even X found himself shaking in the presence of.

" _I had prepared this armor for you long ago, but I feared that you would be unable to handle it. But I see now that you are more than capable of wielding it's incredible power. Take it X, take this Ultimate Armor, and use it to set the mistakes of the past right."_

"The...Ultimate Armor..." X raised his right hand and approached the hologram. Just brushing his fingertips against it sent shivers through his body, and yet it's presence was inviting him to advance. He slanted his eyes and swallowed any remaining doubts, stepping onto the platform without a single quiver in his body.

The flow of data that washed over him was greater than any other. His mind was sent adrift throughout the entire world, as he felt his body becoming one with the tallest mountains, the luscious forests, the boundless seas, and the calming skies. He closed his eyes and accepted the embrace of all this beautiful world had to offer, a world that he fought to protect just as strongly as his predecessor did.

Yet, everything occurred in the span of three seconds, and once the power of the Ultimate Armor had been downloaded into X's systems for later use he stepped off the capsule and continued to walk forward. He no longer was frightened or confused by the memories of the past. He embraced them as a part of who he was, one of Dr. Light's proudest creations, and the last remaining hope this world had at finding freedom from the terrors of Dr. Wily.

Dr. Light's hologram watched X walk forward with an indomitable resolve, his chest swelling with pride while his smile remained rested comfortably on his face. Just ten feet away, X stopped and looked back, seeing his creator off with an innocent grin that was reflective of the ones Mega Man used to give him.

"Thank you for everything you've done, father."

He then turned his head back and continued to walk, his appearance becoming a distant memory in a matter of seconds. Dr. Light stared in awe for a good while longer after, closing his eyes and letting out a dry but merry chuckle before a nostalgic sniffle deigned him to stop his sentimentality from getting the better of him. He stepped back onto the capsule he emerged from, and sealed it up tight. All he could do now was put every last bit of faith he had into his son's capabilities.

X continued to walk, his gaze now sharpened towards the environment around him. Making it past every obstacle in his path as though he was on a casual stroll through a park, the Hunter soon found himself at the end of the road. Without a single bit of fanfare or introduction, X had caught up to Zero, who stood at the opposite end of the room with an overwhelming violet aura around him. It was different from the kinds of auras X had seen up until now. This one was calm, and felt natural around Zero.

Stepping one foot down, X kept his hands at his hips and didn't say a word. Zero turned around, at first acknowledging the Hunter's presence with a lofty glance over his right shoulder. His eyes were still red, and filled with the instincts of a beast on the hunt. Once the two met face-to-face, a clear "W" icon appeared in the backdrop of this room, and Zero was the first to speak.

"So you've finally come...X." He sounded the same as he always did, and yet his tone carried a different weight to it than usual. He wasn't here to speak to a friend. He saw only an enemy in front of him. But X looked at Zero no differently than normal. His body tightened up, but there was no doubts. Just a strong will, and an endless determination...

" _Zero...I will save you!"_

 _Next Time: Destined Battle_


	15. Break Announcement

My apologies for dropping this announcement all of a sudden like this, but the next chapter is going to be delayed for about a week.

Things are a little hectic in life lately and considering how big the X vs. Zero is planned to be, I want to give you 100% instead of 70%, if you get what I'm saying. So yeah, I'll be back soon, but hey, at least I gave you guys a good breathing space!

Oh, and as usual, thanks for reading and sorry for the delay.


	16. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14: X vs. Zero I: Light's Wish for Peace**

X and Zero stood a good fifteen feet apart from each other within this secluded part of cyberspace. There was an abnormal sensation in the air, one that X was incapable of describing. The dimension twisted itself around Zero's presence, reacting to the power that exuded from his body. Zero, even in the midst of this tension thicker than oil, was smiling. His face, his body, everything about him was serene, as though this strange landscape was his own personal Eden.

"...What's wrong X?" Zero spoke with a tone of familiarity between the two, as though a part of him still cared. At least, that's how X wished to interpret his voice. But then, Zero's lips spread out even more, turning into a grin that'd disturb even a crocodile. He then stared at X with a glazen, hypnotic look in his eyes and extended his right arm out, waving the hand around in a couple neat if not stiff circles.

"Are you...hesitatant to fight me?" He inquired, his words bearing a great pressure upon X's body.

X stood his ground without bending in the slightest, looking Zero straight in the eyes and seeing nothing but the darkest depths of madness reflecting off his eyes. Yet, his mind was tranquil, allowing him to respond after only a second worth of thought, "Zero...you remember who you are, don't you?"

Zero rested his arms at the hips and lowered his head with a short, dry chuckle, "Judging by the sounds of things, you know the truth as well."

He opened his eyes to look back-and-forth at his palms, looking as unshaken as the tallest of mountains, "Yes...I've remembered everything, X. The Maverick Wars, Sigma...all of it's pointless."

Zero paused upon the sight of his right hand and then tilted his head up to direct the glare towards X, who reeled back just a tiny bit in response. Then, clenching his hand into a fist, Zero thrust it up and extended the pointer finger with a grin, "The only reason I exist, is to destroy you...X."

"...Is that really what you believe, Zero?" X was unwavering in his question, causing Zero's hand to recoil slowly back to his hip with a perking of interest in his eyes.

"You think I'm under the influence of the virus, don't you?" Zero raised a hand up to the side of his head and glided it along to the back of his helmet, peering into X's face with a hazy, crimson glare and an expression devoid of even an iota of empathy.

"There is no need to worry about that. The robot you see before you is the one true Zero. Nothing more, nothing less."

"You can say what you will, but I **know** who the real Zero is. The real Zero..." X crossed his right arm in front of his chest and laid it near where his heart would be, "Is a strong and dependable Maverick Hunter, and my closest friend."

He then thrust that hand out and pointed at Zero with all his vigor, "And right now, I know that deep down, he's struggling...Fighting to maintain control over his body! And I'm here to help him win that fight!"

"You're so _naive_ , X." Zero was quiet yet blunt, shaking his head at the mere gall X tossed his way.

"You're here to save me? What can **you** possibly do to change what was destined to happen?" Zero turned his body to the side and planted his right foot hard on the ground as he slumped forward towards X, his eyes glowing a pale crimson.

"There IS no cure for this power that flows through me. Your only option is to destroy me, X."

"I refuse!" X proclaimed with his fist tightening up harder than compressed steel.

"Then I'll destroy you, and everything else in this world." Zero put it bluntly in an attempt to goad X into fighting back.

"D-Destroy the entire world...?" X was taken aback a bit, and he swung his right arm out and back before proclaiming with relentlesss confusion, "Why would you even consider such a thing?!"

"I didn't have to consider anything. This process was ingrained in my programming since the day I was created." Zero spoke with such nonchalance that only he could possibly have considered that callous remark normal.

"Your enemy is me! No one else!" X yelled out with a furious diction, hoping his words would be enough to break through to his friend's conscience.

"Wrong," Zero pushed those words away behind his iron wall and then lifted his head to look at X, "My directive states that I am to terminate everything related to the creations of Dr. Thomas Light. And that doesn't just include you, nor does it stop at the Reploids that were modeled off your design...It includes all of humanity, who only continue to thrive because of the advances that foolish doctor made."

"Even you have to realize how insane that is, Zero!"

"You're yelling in vain, X. Either take arms and fight, or stand there and die pathetically." Zero's right hand began to draw towards his sword as though guided by a gentle magnetic force, but though his body burned with a fierce, warrior's instinct X refused to yield just yet.

"What would Iris think if she heard you say all that?" X spoke without breaking a calm demeanor, watching as Zero's hand tensed up into a fist right above the shoulder and he swung it forth with teeth grit and brows trembling.

"Don't you DARE talk about her like that!" His voice screamed out with an unbridled fury, lasting merely for an instant before Zero found his hand opening up and slamming against the side of his face. X peered on with great interest.

" _That's it Zero! You can fight it!"_

Zero swung his head to the left and then back forward, his whole body shaking until it stiffened back up with a grin crossing his face.

"Heh...hehe!" He raised his head back and the pupils were now the size of pin tips. With a grin that could frighten a rabid hyena, Zero slid his hand back along the side of his head and once more reached for the sword on his back.

"Guess there's still a little weakness I have to snuff out..." The moment he clasped his hand around the handle of his blade, X swung his buster up and began charging without hesitation. The sides of Zero's grin twitched upward, the light of his saber glowing bright off his back and casting a shadow around his frame.

"But first...I'll get rid of you, X!" He brought his blade forward with a swing so fast that X couldn't see it by the time he blinked. With a charged shot as big as his body pushing out the barrel, X's feet slid back a couple inches and met up with the crescent wave that Zero launched out.

The two attacks colliding kicked up a blast of embers and smoke that the two robots dashed towards, ramming their left elbows together in a grinding cross with their sparking glares meeting a foot apart from each other. After their clash left sparks flying in the air for five seconds, the two backed off with a floaty leap until they were at the opposing sides of the room once more.

X's body charged up with energy and he swung his buster up to fire a charged shot, but he kept charging even afterwards. Zero sliced his blade forward and used the force to start up and rocketing dash forward, creating an ice barrier that curved around the front of his body like a claw's pincers and allowed him to blow through the charged shot and head right for X.

X's armor shifted to a tint as brown as dirt and he swung his arms out, creating a shield of large rotating crescent blades that grinded down the ice and held the two combatants in place. The ice broke apart into a thin mist across the room, concealing both fighters in shadows until Zero ignited his blade in fire and slashed forward, melting the mist down to a hazy field of dew while blowing X back into the door.

X rebounded off the wall but planted his feet on the ground, kneeling down and dogding Zero's stab towards his head with a swift jerk of it to the left. His body was tense and his chest was kept thumping as his body imagined the sharp blade carving into his frame. He then leapt up and grabbed the front of Zero's face while spinning himself around, and as he dropped down he used his strength to slam Zero's body against the ground.

Zero grit his teeth as parts of his helmet were chipped off, but the jolt to his processors wasn't enough to disable him for more than a second. He rolled to the left to dodge X's charged shot, then propped himself up and leapt into the air, spinning forward and creating a giant yellow crescent from the tip of his blade to extend it's reach. X shifted to the left and received a cut atop his shoulder for his troubles. Zero broke out of his spin and punched the ground with his left fist, sending forth small violet projectiles in an eight-directional arch from his body.

Three of them struck X in his knees, stomach and face, causing him to stumble back a couple steps before he could regain his focus. He then swung his buster forward and leapt to the left to dodge Zero's lightning fast cut, only for Zero to shift his head to the left and plant both feet on the ground, locking on to X's movements and turning on a dime to charge at him without pause.

X widened his eyes and hesitated in the face of the reflexes Zero showed off, allowing his opponent to slice across the bottom of his buster with a one-handed grip on his saber. The other hand went right for X's face and gripped all five fingers around it, the grasp tightening worse than the pressure of a trash compactor. X grunted as the metal of his helmet burrowed inward and dug into his pain processors like a drill. He squinted his eyes open and stared into the maddening glare Zero gave him. Cold, devoid of emotion, the robot had started to given into his primordial coding.

Sparks of pure fury flowed through X's body and caused his hands to buckle up into fists at the sight of his friend's abnormal behavior, and through the pain of it all the Hunter bit his teeth together and screamed his name, "ZEEEERRRROOOO!"

His body was consumed by a brief and bright flash as he shifted into the Falcon Armor, it's sudden appearance causing Zero's grip to loosen while his eyes popped open in shock. X set his thrusters to maximum boost and wrenched his left hand around Zero's neck, flying up and slamming him against the ceiling hard enough to put a centimeter wide spread of cracks in his helmet and send spit flying from an agape mouth.

X jerked his body as hard as he could to the right, letting out a furious roar as he built the momentum necessary to throw Zero down against the wall. As he recoiled off it, Zero landed standing perfectly upright but with his knees trembling for a second. He looked up at X, who grit his teeth and swung his fists up, levitating just below the ceiling with his determination refusing to kneel.

" _This isn't enough...! I need to use more power!"_

X closed his eyes, in that brief moment recalling all the Mavericks he had slain in battle, and all their powers he had copied off them. Once fearing all that power he had available to him, X had locked many of those powers deep within his subconscious. But now, he couldn't afford to hold **anything** back. If he gave in even an inch, avoided even an iota of his power, then it would not only be a betrayal of the bond he had forged over the years with Zero, but he'd be failing the trust Dr. Light and the others put in him.

"Ghhhh...GRRRAAAAHHH!" Releasing the mental locks he had placed on those powers put X through an excrutiating, indescribable amount of pain, and his face stretched out as he screamed. Electricity shot forth from his body like a raging storm, ripping apart the walls and floors until they looked more twisted up than an abstract painting. Zero fending off the electricity with a few swings of the blade, but found his body too frozen in awe to advance any further.

"Heh..." No, it wasn't awe. Zero grinned and looked up. His body was riddled, _shaking_ with anticipation. This is the one he had awaited, even when he didn't know it. The ultimate target, a foe **worthy** to be destroyed and torn apart at his hands. Yet, deep down, Zero couldn't shake off this sensation of pride towards X that lingered from his 'weaker' self. Relaxing his grin, he gripped his blade in both hands and weathered the storm of power that distorted the fabric of cyberspace.

X finished in silence, his body releasing a scorching steam from the vents across his limbs while he lowered to the center of the room. With a dry pant, X swung both his fists forward and turned them into busters, exclaiming with all his might, "STORM TORNADO!"

From the left buster, a cylindrical lilac whirlwind flew forth towards Zero, who widened his eyes in surprise but also cracked a gleeful smile before lunging off the ground towards X. In the midst of his jump he ended up flying over the Storm Tornado, but X swung his busters out at forty-five degrees out from his center and fired out a pair of green wind energy balls that arched around towards Zero.

Zero grabbed his blade in both hands and spun forward, the two balls colliding with the edges of his blade at the last possible second and bouncing off. The two projectiles sped up and caught up with the Storm Tornado, colliding together an inch above the ground and erupting into a wide, towering green and purple cyclone that ripped a tunnel through the ceiling and threatened to drag the two robots in.

Zero attacked X with a hard forward slash before the pull of the cyclone got a hold of him. X slammed his hands together in a thuderous clap, holding the blade back while using his boosters to push away. Zero shifted his gaze back and forth between the cyclone and X, waiting until the former had died down before kicking his right foot up into the gut of the latter to repel away. With a flip back Zero landed on the ground and glanced up at the tunnel for a second.

X swung his right buster up and prepared a charged shot, but the very moment it fired out Zero leapt back and stuck to the wall then used it to launched himself into the tunnel. X lowered his buster and flew forth to examine the tunnel, only for a Z-Buster shot from Zero to almost graze down the front of his face. X spun around and then kicked up his thrusters to pursue Zero.

Zero was scaling the tunnel as quick as a blur, making it difficult for X to get a lock-on with his normal buster. Squinting his eyes halfway shut, X thrust his buster up and fired a small torpedo with a glassy red head. The torpedo lagged for a second and then beeped, flying straight up towards Zero's location. The robot slowed down and planted his hand against the rugged wall, looking at the torpedo and waiting until the tip was an inch away from his feet to leap away, causing the weapon to blow up on the wall before it could change it's course.

Zero pointed his buster down and fired a couple shots, followed by making a couple more leaps upward as X weaved passed the shots, his body almost grinding up against the wall due to how narrow the tunnel was. He fired some more torpedoes after while increasing the power of his thrusters, but Zero used the same technique to dodge them.

X widened his eyes and anticipated these movements, and once Zero was leaping between the walls he threw his arms down diagonally and was surrounded with a golden field of immense energy. His speed doubled for a brief moment, allowing him to ram right into Zero's chest and send him barreling through the end of the tunnel, ending up inside of a different secluded room. X rammed Zero into the ceiling of this room, dislodging chunks of raw data that broke apart to nothingness upon the ground.

Zero grit his teeth and struggled to pull his arms up as X dug his elbow into his chest. When he got both hands overhead, he swung his blade down towards X's head, forcing him back. Zero then planted both his feet into X's chest and bounced off it to the back side of the room, while X curled his arms in and then dropped to the ground, his chest wracked in pain for a bit.

The cyberspace dimension distorted, for a few brief seconds appearing to take on the appearance of the command center X remembered fighting Sigma in during his first rebellion. Looking towards Zero, X saw a shadow of the form Sigma had during that time lingering beside him, but it's visage was eclipsed by a greater shadow looming behind him whose form X could not describe.

" _Zero...That power you're being controlled by...It...it feels even more evil than Sigma is!"_

X clenched his right hand up and thrust a pointer finger towards his friend, proclaiming to them, "Zero! You have to fight back! Don't let it control you!"

"Shut up!" Zero swung his left arm then shifted his body sideways, throwing his hand up before the face and clenching it into a fist, "Words are pointless, X! Our battle will decide everything!"

The distortions in cyberspace began to flicker faster as tremors rocked through it, and the vile aura around Zero's body grew a couple inches thicker. Zero gripped his blade tight in the right hand and then dug his feet into the ground, cracking it apart and stabilizing the distortions back to normal.

His grin now had a fanged look to them, and he sprinted forth with the speed of a lightning bolt towards X. The robot had but a millisecond to shift his body to the left and evade Zero's slash, which left a trail of crimson afterimages in his wake. X paused for a second then was left with a scar as deep as a fingernail across his abdomen. He spun around on the spot with his left eye winced shut, thrusting his charging buster forward while using his levitation to push away from Zero.

Upon firing the charged shot X watched as Zero turned around and leapt back without missing a beat, attaching his feet back against the wall and then rocketing over to the other side of the room in an instant. X swung his head back with mouth agape, analyzing the speeds that Zero performed at and finding that he was now faster than a sonic jet.

X readied his buster to attack, but Zero bounced off the wall and turned his blade into a giant spike of ice right as he dove down. X pushed away, only for the tip of the spike to burrow into the toes of his right foot and puncture it right off. The pain of losing so many circuits at once was hard to bear, but X grit his teeth and kept focused on his buster's charge. He fired at Zero as he landed, but the robot zipped to the left in a flash and then lunged forward with his left fist thrown forward.

He punched X's hard in the chest and caused him to coil forward, his thrusters deactivated and grounding him. The very moment the shockwave erupted from the punch, Zero leapt back onto the wall and used it to propel over to the other side. This time around though, X stood his ground and swung his arms out, creating a saw-like laser blade in one hand and a thorny sphere in the other. The two dropped to the ground and wheeled off towards the walls, sticking to and rolling up them.

Zero leapt off that wall and then went to the other side, slipping past the spiked ball and swinging his buster down to take a shot at X before the saw blade sped up in pursuit of his presence. He then went back to the other wall, where X aimed a charged shot that struck him square in the chest the moment he landed. A dent was formed in that part of his frame and he lost his grip for a second, sliding down towards the incoming saw-blade.

Zero shook his head and then bounced off the wall as the sharp tips of the saw dug a bit into the tip of his right foot. As he lunged over to the other side of the room, he took out his blade in one hand and sliced through the spiked ball with a forward roll and then a reversal spin that allowed him to land on the ground safely. The two halves of the sphere fell and bounced off the ground on both of X's sides, picking up speed as they rebounded off all sides of the room.

Zero swung his blade up and the energy spiked with a radiant flash, slicing through the saw-blade above him as he was in the midst of swinging it down to unleash a cascading tidal wave of raw power towards X. The ground was ripped apart as though swept up in a monsoon, but X managed to fly up and barrel between the foot-sized gap between the attack and ceiling at the last possible moment.

He flipped forward and swung both his busters out, firing out an elongated electric chain whose spiked tips struck through the center of the broken sphere and allowed X to pull them back into his grasp. He spread his fingers between the spikes and wielded the halves like discs, throwing them out one at a time with a rough flick of the wrist before his chest.

Zero lunged forward and his blade turned purple as he slashed, cutting down both halves in one single swipe. He then stood up and leaped, setting his blade on fire for a rising uppercut. X swerved to the left and then threw a punch into Zero's chest to send him flying into the backdrop of the room, the impact causing the landscape to short-circuit with static for a few moments. Zero pulled himself from the crevice formed and landed on the ground at the same time as X, charging straight at him at blinding speeds.

X stood still and predicted Zero's attack from the upward motion of his blade. The moment he heard the slightest crackle of embers, X aimed his buster downward and fired a cold blob of goo at Zero's left foot, which was beginning to leave the ground behind. The goo froze up and pulled Zero down, where his neck met with the blunt end of X's right knuckles, which twisted clockwise to increase the force of the blow.

The ice binding Zero shattered and his body was thrown back, planted against the wall harder than before. X wasted no time in running forward and raising his left buster to fire four arrow-headed blasts of ice with the force of a shotgun. Each shot stuck to a different limb, binding Zero in place with a spread out blanket of frost. To be certain he'd stay still, X followed this up by firing an electrified spider web into the center of his body, sending at least a good million volts surging through him.

X stood ten feet away and kept a cautious hold on the top of his buster as it was held before his waist, looking Zero in the eyes as he squirmed around and bit his teeth down onto the top of the web to try and tear himself free. His growls were as feral and rabid as a wolves', but there was nothing else to blame for that than the virus.

"Zero..." X could only offer his deepest condolences and pity, for the moment he tried to take a step forward a sharp cracking was hard coming from the ice. He held his buster up and watched as the webbing snapped off Zero's body and dropped to the ground inert. Zero leaned forward with his arms out first, smashing his legs free with one punch each.

He then slanted his feet back and bounced off, with X firing a pair of high-speed slicing crescents from his buster just a little too late. Zero landed on the back wall and grasped his sword in the right hand, swinging his blade down to launch a wave of energy at X. He then bounced around the room with an abundant spring to his step, swinging his blade out multiple times to assault his foe from all sides with a storm of energy.

X had difficulty getting a bead on Zero in the midst of crossing his arms for protection. His body was zipping around the room, leaving red streaks with only the occasional pause to attack leaving him visible. X observed the speeds Zero were moving at and noticed there was a pattern to his movements, in that he stuck only to the side walls and the ceiling.

" _Three points of travel..."_ The conclusion led to X swinging his arms out and taking the risk of a couple cuts in order to summon three orbs crackling with electricity in a triangle around him. He built up the electricity until the orbs were ready to burst, upon which he launched the bolts upon the two walls and ceiling, striking them with a thunderous boom whose echoes had no choice but to reverberate violently into X's ears.

The pain caused his eyes to squint, not helped by the thick cloud of smoke that formed when the lightning struck. He looked around and saw no signs of Zero at first, making him wonder whether or not he hit his mark. The energy waves, at the least, were at an end for now.

X thought of using his thrusters to push the smoke away, but all of a sudden he was cut along the back by a swift slice. The attack left behind a green flash for the second it took for X to swerve back around, and by then Zero has slipped back into cover. X hunched forward a little and kept his buster close to the chest. Sparks were spurting forth from the back, but Zero had missed the jets by an inch. An imperfection like that wasn't expected of him, but that just meant the smoke was serving an unintended but beneficial purpose.

Zero lunged out from the smoke from a moment and tried to stab X through the cut he made, but the whir of energy from his blade gave his position away soon enough for X to swerve his body to the side. Committing to the attack, Zero continued to sprint forward and stab the edge of his blade to deepen the cut, exposing the circuitry underneath. By the time X had turned around, his friend was gone once more.

X knew he could not keep on the defensive for long. He had to take advantage of the situation to smoke Zero out as soon as possible, or his armor would be become too damaged. Closing his eyes, X threw his hands towards the ground and spawned three red spherical mines surrounded by four magnetic spikes. The mines hovered at his feet but didn't make a sound, until they detected Zero's position. Then, they flew all at once in the direction right behind X, exploding against the robot's legs and blowing away the larger cloud to replace it with a smaller one.

X pivoted around and kicked forward, throwing his right fist into Zero's gut before he could recover from the devastating set of explosion. From around his fist emerged a spiral, rising gale that dragged Zero back-first into the ceiling before dissipating. In it's place, X fired a rising plume of flame that dug into his chest and burned at a temperature that dwarved magma.

Even as his armor appeared ready to start melting, Zero dragged his left hand down away from the hip and grabbed onto the side of the flames, squeezing it so tight it was though he was crushing a human skull. When the embers scattered to the wayside Zero plummeted to the ground like a one-ton stone, bringing with him a thick icicle from his sword.

He allowed it to shatter on the ground instead of striking X, the flurry of hard, icy bits flying into the Hunter's face and gouging into parts of his eyes. Even the tiniest fragments were enough to blind him, and with some tense grunts he quickly brought his fists up to rub the ice out. Zero sprinted beside X and performed one downward slice across X's back, slicing off the jets as though he was cleaving a cut of meat from the loin. He then slid his body in a short but wide arc to the right, positioning himself with knees bent in front of X with the sole intent of ensuring he saw his killer.

Silent even as he was ready to run his blade through a former comrade, Zero plunged the saber forward at the center of X's chest, a certain kill in his sights. Then, X's body flashed once more as he pulled his hands away from his face and let out a pained roar of determination. The tip of the saber collided with an indomintable wall and bent in a curve, that obstacle being the chest of X's Gaea Armor.

Without hesitation, X swung his arms up in front of Zero's face and summoned a field of black and green energy around him. Once he was constrained, X raised him up a foot off the ground and then stretched his fingers out all the way to launch him like a cannonball through the nearby wall. The impact was swift and clean, the energy breaking apart the moment he was through the wall. Zero, flying back with his body being dragged down by gravity, thrust his Z-Buster up and took a shot at X the moment he saw him approaching the hole made in the wall of data.

X swatted the blast away with a light flick of the wrist and then leapt off the edge, the weight of his armor causing him to plummet at twice the speed Zero was. At first there was nothing below them by an infinite void of information streaming from place-to-place, but then, as though reacting to their presence, the datascape crafted a wide-open landscape resembling a rocky wasteland. Zero dragged his legs back and landed on the ground, the moment the tip of his toes sending a black ripple across the land. X landed a second later, a light-blue ripple echoing out from his heels.

The rippled transformed the landscape, as data pushed up from the ground and crafted the ruins of human civilization around Zero, while around X the same buildings stood, towering towards the sky. Zero bent forward and pointed his saber towards X from the side of his head. X coiled his fingers inwards until the knuckles made a loud snapping noise, and didn't divert his gaze away from Zero in the slightest.

Zero sprinted forward, kicking up dust in his wake as his body turned into a crimson blur. X advanced one sluggish step at a time, but his expression was stone-cold and without fear. He swung his right arm up as Zero leapt and dove at him with a downward slash, catching the blade between his pointer finger and thumb. The impact of Zero's attack kicked up a gale of wind behind X, while Zero was suspended with a brief, frazzled look in his eyes,

X pulled Zero in and slammed his other fist deep in the gut, a bright shockwave erupting a little past the length of his body. After the applied force left Zero's body, X let go and pounded away at his chest with slow, hammering punches. Each strike was more hot than a burning iron, and the shockwaves that erupted from Zero's backside grew larger until they eclipsed his body in size. Then, X let Zero drop, only to then hop up and clasp his hands together to pound him in the back of the head.

Zero's body crashed and bulldozed a fifty-foot long chasm via his feet, leaving his body roughed up on the front as he pushed himself upright and accelerated through the chasm to try and get back to X. He leapt forward and attacked again with a downward lunge, X countering with a punch thrust out with the recoil of a shotgun. It took all of Zero's might just to stand against the punch, but even then the impact left him repelled back into the chasm.

His body swiveled to the left upon landing, but he forced himself forward and lunged at X again. This time he went for a straight-forward frontal assault, stabbing his blade towards the chest. The blade repelled off it but Zero pulled back and swung again without losing momentum. He attacked with five swings in rapid succession, his body leaving afterimages from how fast he was going. X's body moved back only a couple inches even after receiving all those attacks.

When brute force proved worthless, Zero resorted to other tactics and leapt back out of the range of X's fist, then thrust his sword forward and turned it into an electric whip. Lashing it against X's body, he sent millions of volts flowing through him, causing X to tense up and bite his teeth down.

He swung his right hand up and clasped the whip around his fingers, pulling Zero in closer with one swift and hard tug. Zero, in a surprising move, let go of his sword and grappled his arms around X's waist. Pulling him off the ground, Zero leapt while spinning around, throwing him back-first into the chasm.

Zero landed and picked up his sword, wasting not even a nanosecond as he jumped above X and brought his sword down towards his neck. X widened his eyes and rolled to the right, pointing both his busters up and firing a series of foggy green bullets from them. Zero stood up and spun his blade around in front of him with agilie alternating of the handle between both hands, deflecting every bullet and sending them off to scar the landscape.

X took the time to stand up and then hold both his open palms out, pooling an unfathomable amount of energy into another large sphere. The moment it was fired, Zero flung himself over it with a high rising flip and spun around until he landed behind X and slashed him from behind. This time the blade dug into the thick plated armor and managed to scar it. X grimaced and swung his head back over his shoulder, noticing that the virus was exuding from Zero even thicker than before.

" _He's...still getting stronger..."_ X turned around and pooled all his energy into another giant sphere, but as it was fired at Zero the robot used his saber to slice the sphere in two with an effortless cut. Zero then raised his blade up high in both hands, energy cascading out of the blade as it brightened with a hellish violet-red hue. With a ferocious roar and a maniacal laugh, Zero swung his blade down with all his might and unleashed that energy upon X like a relentless tidal wave.

The energy gushed across the landscape for at least a mile out, ripping apart any 'buildings' in it's path. Then, the battlefield went silent as Zero observed the devastation his attack brought with a dry smirk. Standing at the tip of the broad, ingrained scar was X, his body steaming but his legs refusing to yield. However, the Gaea Armor had been rendered useless, torn apart to the point that the only thing keeping the chunks of metal leftover on his body was the fact that he did not budge.

Zero walked up to X and responded to his scowling, trembling face with a brush of his head to the left and a scoff. He then raised his right foot and planted it in X's chest, knocking him down into the seering scar. A jolt went through X's mind as the back of his head was struck from the fall. He pushed his head up until the chin touched his chest, the heat rising up around him and leaving his vision in a moist, blurred state.

But through that tampered sight Zero's visage was clear as day. He lurked over the edge of the chasm in steady observation of what his prey would do next. He was patient. He had waited more than a century for this moment, he could easily wait a few more seconds, or even a few more minutes just to relish his triumph.

"This is all I get out of Dr. Thomas Light's 'ultimate creation'? You disappoint me...X." However, Zero hung his head and let out a begrudging sigh. All he could express now was a heavy amount of annoyance and frustration towards his foe, instead of pride that he appeared to be the victor.

"You keep holding back...Why are you always so goddamn stupid, X?!" Zero pounced down and kicked X in the right leg to hurtle him back, and the robot tumbled ten feet on the ground before resting on his stomach. Zero kept advancing, reprimanding his enemy with a heartless lecture.

"Stop clinging to your idealistic nonsense and face me at your full power! The Zero you knew, the 'fake' Zero..is dead! And I won't be satisfied unless I destroy you at your best!" Zero stamped his feet down near X's body and pointed the blade at his face.

"You're all alone X! No one is going to come and save you now!"

"SHUT...UP!" X clenched his fist up tight and smashed the ground to the left of his face with a defiant roar. A ripple of energy shook out, and for a brief second it looked as though the datascape materialized physical matter into reality.

X grit his teeth and started to push himself up, with energy gushing out of his body at an uncontrollable rate. Zero's body froze stiff with eyes wide in shock and his legs walking away from X all on their own. X shifted his head to the left and glared at Zero in a frenzy. The power that rushed out of him was warm and heavenly, taking great care not to damage anything it brushed up against as it flowed forth in radiant streams.

"I...am not alone! You know...more than anyone that's not true!" X's body limped forward as he stood upright and faced Zero, his legs having barely the strength to carry his weight. He was like a zombie, one fueled by an iron will and the flames of sheer determination. A radiant golden aura shone around X's body as the gem on his forehead lit up as bright as an evening star.

Zero opened his mouth agape, and the virus aura he had seemed to retreat into his body as he inquired, "W-What...is this power?! Don't tell me...you still had this much power left?! And why...why does it feel so familiar?!"

X tightened his fists and took in a deep breath, hardening his resolve upon remembering the words Dr. Light spoke to him mere moments ago, _"Take it X, take this Ultimate Armor, and use it to set the mistakes of the past right."_

His eyes flared open in a nanosecond, burning right a straight and narrow glare that reflected the experiences that made him the person he is today. He recognized the past for what it was, he thanked the ones who allowed him to be alive, but most importantly of all...He vowed not to fail even a single one of them, whether living or dead.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" X's body levitated off the ground as he swung his fists at his hips, the energy burst forth in a massive golden flash that spread across the entire battlefield, silencing even the deafening scream X had unleashed. The light expanded so far out, its rays shot forth from the fallen colony and pierced the hellish skies. Then, all at once, the light was flushed from the world, and left behind it an eerie calm.

Inside the datascape, Zero pulled his crossed arms away from the face and looked around. Still awe-struck, he found that the datascape had materialized a fully functional city complete with towering buildings, bountiful gardens, and a bright sunny sky. But these sights were minor compared to what lied in the center of them all. X floated down to the ground, his body now having donned an armor of immeasurible power.

Appearance-wise, the armor shared many details with the Fourth Armor X had utilized in the Repliforce War. However, this armor was sleeker and better suited for not just mobility, but combat both offensively and defensively. The colors of the armor consisted of a mix of blue, purple, black and yellow, with a helmet that had a three-pronged headpiece on the forehead. Power seeped out from the armor in the form of a golden steam, fading as X's feet finally touched the ground and he opened his eyes to the world around him.

His body was serene and devoid of any doubts, as though he had become perfectly one with himself. He looked at his body for a second and took in the power of the armor, then stared up at Zero with fists held tight at the hips. With just one step forward, X caused Zero to leap back in retreat, and the robot knew not why he reacted that way.

As Zero growled in confusion, X kept walking forward, advancing one inch at a time as he spoke to Zero with a stern confidence in himself, "You told me back then that, if you were to go Maverick, I was to terminate you with extreme prejudice, Zero..."

"You entrusted your life to me on that very day. You made me your judge, jury, and even executioner if I so desired it..." X stopped ten feet away from Zero, his footsteps not even disrupting the pebbles at his feet, "But I refuse to execute you. Right now, I can feel things I never would have imagined...And your heart..."

He pointed a finger up towards Zero's chest, "Your heart is crying out for me to rescue you from the darkness that has inflicted your mind, poisoning it to turn you into something you're not."

"...I'm not the one who needs saving anymore Zero. This time, I'm the one who's going to save you! Even if I have to give one-hundred and ten percent of my power to do so!" X dug his feet into the ground and swung his arms out, releasing a burst of raw power from his body as the gem on his forehead radiated brightly.

"So get ready...Cause here I come...ZEROOOO!"

 _Next Time: Clash of Past and Present_


	17. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15: X vs. Zero II: Together as One**

Zero stood a good distance from X, the grip on his Z-Saber shaky and uncertain. He could only revel in awe at the power X exuded from his Ultimate Armor, which eclipsed the capabilities of all other Reploids combined. Now more than ever, X stood at the apex of Reploid-kind, his presence looming atop an insurmountable mountain.

But no amount of fear or awe could override Zero's purpose. His mind screamed at him to fight with everything he got, even if he was destroyed in the process. All that mattered...was the complete and utter elimination of Dr. Light's legacy.

Zero's grip tightened around the handle of his blade, and he sprinted forward with it swung past his hip. He lashed it out faster than X could blink, targeting right for his head while his face stretched to bellow out a vicious roar. Though it didn't appear that X had moved, Zero was surprised to find the robot's right arm raised to block the strike, taking not even a minor scar's worth of damage.

Zero pressed the blade in, trying to wound his foe's peerless armor, but any further pressure just served to reveal a barely visible energy barrier helping to protect X. What proved even more insulting, in Zero's mind, was that X looked at him with a stoic, confident glare as he held him back. Zero pulled away with a bounding leap, his heels grinding along the rugged ground and kicking up dust.

X extended his right arm out and shifted his hand to it's buster form, which had a pair of small triangular "wings" on the sides. It only took him a second to charge, a feat of speed that left Zero stunned for a second further before a giant fireball of pure plasma energy was launched his way. Zero shifted his body to the left with a leap, narrowly avoiding the graze of the attack as it seared a divot through the ground behind him.

Looking back, Zero saw a slant in the trajectory of the shot, recognizing that X had missed him on purpose. Biting his teeth down to the point of trembling, Zero landed and charged right at X, infuriated that his foe would now have the gall to toy with him. Once right in front of X, Zero began a relentless series of cuts, performing a dozen in various directions before even a second had passed.

X locked onto the path each slice would go and flicked his hands around in a blur so rapid that it appeared he had grown multiple limbs, successfully blocking each and every strike as though batting away flies. Zero clasped his blade in both hands and lashed it up towards the nape of his foe. This time, X didn't stick to the defensive and threw his right fist underneath the blade, plowing it into Zero's chest.

Zero's head lunged forward as his whole body was sent flying back, puncturing through one of the buildings like a piece of loaded artillery. Zero landed on his feet and found his left hand going right for the dent on his chest, which rippled with an exuberant degree of pain that reached his 'brain' and feet. Through the hole Zero made, which continued to crumble apart around the circumference, he saw X standing still on the other side, gauging his next move.

"Ghh...GHH!" Zero, in a blinding rage, turned his blade around and held it in both hands, his vision blurring until only X was tunneled in his sights. He swung his sword out and cleaved through the bottom of the building in one clean slice. The towering weight, without any means of support, began to fall down towards X at a rapid pace. X looked up as the shadow of the building was cast upon him, growing darker and darker until it eclipsed him completely in darkness upon it's collapse.

Zero stood back and watched as a plume of dust erupted in a shockwave from the bottom of the building that now laid atop of X. There was a six foot gap between the building and the ground, and X was wedged between them with his palms pressed against the bottom of it. His knees began to shake, the pressure of at least a few dozen tons weighing upon him. The Ultimate Armor offered him greater lifting strength, but in this case it was only to survive what was happening now.

" _I need...more strength!"_

Strenuous effort on X's part affected both his mind and body, and the gem on his forehead began to glow in response to this stress. As a flash of light overcame his body while his eyes popped open as wide as they possibly could. His mind was sent adrift, floating away from the present and into a far, far distant past.

" _Mwehehehe! You won't catch me with those little pellets, Mega Man!"_

 _In a secluded, rocky room covered in organic vines, a certain little blue robot faced off against one of his brothers, a red-and-white robot with a pair of thick scissors atop his heady. The robot, known as Cut Man, bounced around the room with more spring in their step than a rabbit and threw boomerrang scissors from atop their head. X, during this fight, saw things through the perspective of the little blue robot, who was firing yellow energy shots from his buster but was failing to tag him._

" _Dr. Light! He's too fast for me to get a bead on!" The blue robot proclaimed with an energetic youthfulness to their voice._

" _It's not his speed that's the problem, Mega Man, but rather his acute awareness of his surroundings. You have to take him by surprise if you hope to stop him." Dr. Light's voice was easily discerned, but he sounded more idealistic in this time._

 _Cut Man stopped atop a crop of stone on the back of the room, doing a jaunty dance with a closed-eyed grin, "You're too slow Mega Dork! You'll never touch Cut Man!"_

 _Cut Man took another scissors off the top of his head and looked up at the ceiling, noticing some thick blocks of stone wrapped up in vines directly above Mega Man._

" _Tell ya what...Why don't I_ _ **cut**_ _you a break?!" Cut Man threw his boomerrang at one of the vines and sliced right through it, causing the block to fall towards Mega Man's head. He grappled his arms around the block, but the weight of it seemed ready to crush him right away._

" _Nnnghh...! It's...so...heavy...!"_

" _Mega Man! Don't give up! You have the strength to overcome this obstacle! Please don't give up...my son!"_

Dr. Light's cries of support echoed through the past and back into the present, and with a hollow look in his eyes X stared up towards the building and felt a strange but familiar power welling up inside of him.

" _DLN-004 Guts Man...Super Arm power, activated!"_

As those words flashed inside of X's mind, his expression relaxed with a serene ease while a glossy flash spread across both his arms. The building became light as a feather, and he began to push it away from him. Zero stood back and let out a gasp, watching as the front of the building propped upright until the whole thing was aligned evenly atop X's palms, with him now standing at the center and holding it up triumphantly. The radiance of the gemstone blinded Zero and left him squinting his eyes, but also washed over him a familiar sensation that triggered a reaction capable of angering him even further.

"T-This power is...!" His mind had been trained to recognize this and many other powers, for he was designed with destroying the wielder of all those powers in particular. Throwing his arms out, Zero let loose a flabbergasted and somewhat frightened scream, "J-Just who are you?!"

"I'm your friend!" X proclaimed as he channeled all the strength he could into throwing the building far over Zero's head, where it landed and bowled down at least four other before grinding to a halt. Zero stumbled forward and glanced back over his left shoulder, distracting him from what X would do next.

X leaped up and pointed his buster down, exclaiming at the top of his lungs, "OIL SLIDER!"

From his buster gushed forth a torrent of oil that splashed along the ground and turned the area surrounding Zero's feet into something resembling a shallow lake. Zero looked down and then up, where he saw X floating overhead surrounded by a rotating ring of five blue orbs of fire. X thrust his right hand out and launched all the orbs towards the oil, igniting it in a widespread blaze that Zero was caught in the center of even as he tried to leap away in time.

"HHHRRAAAGGH!" Zero's pained howl echoed out of the towering inferno until he sped his way back onto the fallen building, where he was able to shake the neon blue embers from his charred body. Without even having to look around, Zero found himself turning back around and looking up at the top of one of the buildings, where X now stood atop of as a full moon stood in the sky above him. Standing beside him was a shadow from the past, the original Blue Bomber himself, his glare just as piercing with confidence as X's.

Zero growled like a feral beast and then rocketed forth towards the building, slamming against and then sprinting straight up it with sword swung aside to pursue his enemies. The shadow of Mega Man faded as X leapt down and dove head-first, swinging his right arm across the chest as another memory was revealed to him.

 _In an underwater factory, Mega Man was in the middle of fighting a green robot with flippers and a scuba mask, unperturbed by the pressure of the deep blue seas thanks to the air tank on his back. Mega Man floated around, timing his jumps carefully to avoid the spiked balls that lined the ceiling._

" _Brrrbb...You've made a grave mistake crossing me in my domain, Mega Man! By the time I'm through with you you'll be sinking to the briney depths in Davy Jones' Locker!" With a bubbly voice thanks to the filter in his mouth, the robot named Bubble Man swam underneath Mega Man and tried to push him upwards with projectiles made of hardened air bubbles._

" _Wily's not going to get away with his plans, Bubble Man! I'll stop you and defeat him too!" Mega Man hung on for dear life and his body turned yellow and brown, allowing him to create from his right hand..._

...A giant silver saw-blade with a hole in the center that allowed for an easy grip. X locked onto Zero and threw the Metal Blade straight down while widening his eyes with determination. Zero crossed his saber before the chest and stuck his feet to the wall of the building magnetically as the Metal Blade struck the sharp edge of the saber.

But the moment the Metal Blade hit, it let out a slight glow and split into eight smaller blades that bypassed Zero's blade and sliced through parts of his limbs, including a crucial part of his leg that kept his magnetism intact. He dropped off the building, flailing his feet forward to try and stick to it again to no avail. X continued to fall after him at the same speed, but he wasn't anywhere close to catching up.

He thrust his buster up and fired a large, solid bubble of air that rolled down the side of the building and picked up the loose Metal Blades, increasing it's weight and thus it's speed. The bubble rammed into Zero's chest but he sliced through it, popping it open and causing the Metal Blades to fall around him. However, X had snuck a little surprise inside of the Bubble Lead, and that was a giant bomb that was able to latch itself onto Zero's chest with a claw-like grip. After a couple beeps, the bomb detonated into an explosion that wiped out a decent chunk of the building and sent Zero plummeting straight into the ground.

X stared down at the cloud of smoke kicked up from the impact and knew Zero was capable of surviving what was thrown at him so far. But before he went on the offensive again, he recalled another memory of the past.

 _Mega Man was inside of a facility that appeared to process lava for energy. The facility was dark save for the glow of lava contained under his feet, and from the shadows a strange dark-blue robot with a silver shuriken attached to the forehead._

" _So you've come...Mega Man." The robot, Shadow Man, was stoic._

" _Who are you?!" Mega Man demanded to know._

" _That is unimportant..." Shadow Man vanished and reappeared on the ground, a shuriken in each hand while his arms were crossed before the chest, "In the name of my master, your journey ends here."_

" _Bring it on!" Mega Man proclaimed, leaping in the air to meet Shadow Man in combat as his body began to spin around..._

X bounced off the building at the edge of the crater from the earlier explosion and pointed his body downward while his arms were held up, spinning and spinning around like a top. His velocity increased to such a ludicrous degree that a tornado was kicked up by the time he neared the ground.

Zero got up and leapt back, dodging the pull of the tornado as X crashed down. Zero dug his feet in the ground and waited for his chance to strike as the tornado appeared to be dying down, but through the shadows of the turbulent winds a magnetic bomb hovered out and detonated the mere second Zero caught notice of it. The bomb released an EMP blast that rattled Zero's functions, making his right leg bend down and frying his vision to the point of replacing his right eye with a veil of flickering static.

 _Mega Man wandered into a recycling plant piled high with cubes of junk, and atop a hill of these cubes sat an odd blue robot with a trash chute between it's broad circular shoulders and a large metal tube where the mouth should be. The robot squeezed a small amount of junk between it's fingers and looked at it with a tilt of the head._

 _Mega Man pointed his buster up at the robot named Dust Man and exclaimed, "Whatever plans Dr. Cossack has for this place, they end here! I'm here to stop you!"_

" _Haaaa...You understand so little, Mega Man. Do you even know why the doc goes to such lengths to 'conquer' the world?" Dust Man pulled himself up with little energy to his movements, as though he was as heavy as all the junk that surrounded him. He turned towards Mega Man and said, "I doubt it...You're as much of a tool as I am..."_

" _W-What are you saying?" Mega Man stammered._

" _I'm saying nothing...honestly, cause I doubt you are listening." Dust Man sighed and then let out a hagged cough, firing a cube of junk for his trash chute down at Mega Man. The Blue Bomber leapt over it and then looked at his opponent, changing into a yellow and orange color scheme as he prepared to fire..._

...three glowing rings of energy came out of the remains of the tornado and latched themselves around Zero's body, binding him into an upright pose as they squeezed just tight enough to prevent his returning strength from being used. X walked out of the risen dust and debris and flicked his pointer and middle finger towards himself, commanding the rings to drag Zero back over to him.

Zero dragged the tips of his feet into the ground to try and delay the encounter, but such minimal power could not overcome the pull the rings commanded. Instead, Zero pooled all his strength into his arms and pushed against his binds, and by the time he was a foot away from X he snapped them like weakened rubber bands and immediately grabbed onto his sword to attack.

Though valiant in his attempt to strike X down, his movements were sluggish and rougher than usual thanks to the bombardment of powers he's been at the end of. Sure enough, X thrust a piercing glare towards Zero's face and then clenched his fists at the hips. With a mighty roar X unleashed a giant, hazy white effigy shaped like a skull around his body. Zero was engulfed by the power and cackling howls of the effigy, and then swept away through the air as the phantasm burst.

Zero crashed to the ground with the force of an anchor, dredging up a twenty foot long divot through the open road. Zero planted his hands down and propped himself back up, refusing to relent even as his body was run ragged. He leapt forward with a spring in his steps that rivaled grasshoppers, and swung his sword back in one hand ready to dive down and strike with all his might. X didn't even flinch and closed his eyes, raising his right hand up as another memory became clear as day.

" _Proto Man, wait!" In a hanging garden high amongst the clouds, Mega Man rush ahead with hand held out, calling to his red-and-white brother with a cry of confusion and desperation. Proto Man turned around at the edge of the platform and smirked. Mega Man turned his hand into a fist and crossed it before his arm, biting his teeth down into a scowl._

" _Why are you doing this?! I thought you were our ally?"_

" _Ally?! Pffft, how naive, brother! I've always hated humanity's guts!" Proto Man swung his hand down and brushed Mega Man off with a callous calm to him._

" _W-What?!"_

" _I don't have time to waste on you! Gyro Man, take this poser down!" Proto Man leapt back off the garden as Mega Man dashed forward, only to be stopped by a gale kicked up by rotating blades above him. A green robot with a helicopter blade attached to it's back and a smaller propeller on it's forehead dropped down and swung it's right hand out towards Mega Man._

" _Coming to you live from the hanging gardens, it's a one-time only event! Witness as I, the dashing Gyro Man, send the rag-tag hero Mega Man flying!" Gyro Man proclaimed with a surfer dude's accent._

 _Mega Man switched to a red-violet tone and pointed his buster up and proclaimed, "Not going to happen! I'm taking you off the air!"_

X clenched his hand together and the environment was wrapped up in a powerful gravitational force. The buildings around him were crushed down to pile of tiny rock and flattened steel, while Zero was forced to the ground with his knees nailing themselves into it. He couldn't budge, for his body felt as heavy as a small moon.

X kept the pressure of the Gravity Hold up in one hand, while summoning an oval-shaped bomb in the other. The bomb, roughly double the size of his head, was thrown up in an arc with all X's strength. The gravity dragged it down towards Zero, but not before breaking apart into a dozen tinier napalms. Zero received the full bombardment of explosions to his face, and as they went off X released his hold on him and planted both his busters to the ground.

Water splashed out from the lip of X's barrels before he summoned forth a two-story wave of water upon Zero. A burst of dark energy blew apart the smoke surrounding the explosions, and with a hazy crimson glow in his eyes Zero sliced forward and cut the wave in twine. X leapt to the right to avoid the energy wave that cut through his attack, noticing that Zero was beginning to pant.

" _It's working...I can't let up now!"_

X held his head up high and watched as Zero charged forward with one singular thrust, tearing up the ground in his wake. X held his arms out diagonally and a flash of light appeared between his grasp as he prepared to summon a weapon.

 _After propelling over some obstacles with a red-white suit of armor with two powerful shoulder jets, Mega Man slid into a secluded room that offered a fantastic view of the warm red sunset outside. Standing in the center of the room as still as a sentinel was a violet robot wearing thin samurai armor, complete with a Kabuki helmet and shoulder pads. Wielding a silver spear, the robot known as Yamato Man glanced over to the left at Mega Man._

" _So...you have arrived at last," Yamato Man swung his spear out in one hand as he turned his whole body to face his opponent, his stance showing no weakness, "I will be honored to defeat the World's Strongest Robot..."_

" _Yamato Man, you have to wake up! You can't let Dr. X control you!"_

" _Dr. X's path is righteous...He will guide this world down a peaceful road. All who oppose it...shall be cut down by my Yamato Spear! Prepare yourself, Mega Man!"_

 _Mega Man flashed, and his body gained a heavier armor with hard-plated fists as he declared, "Lets do this Rush!" upon which a couple barks came from within his body._

Zero's blade clanged against the defense X mounted, which took on the form of a one-ton tomahawk with a silver head. X's grip wrestled around the top and bottom of the handle, holding onto it as though it was light as a wooden bat. Zero leaned his arm back and went on the attack, but X proved to be faster as he twirled around and smashed Zero in the chest with the top of the tomahawk's head. Zero's feet grinded back along the ground, while X grabbed the tomahawk in the center of and flung it out twirling as fast as a fan.

The tomahawk tore up the ground in pursuit of Zero, who was once again bitter to be forced on the defensive. He held his sword up horizontally and awaited the grinding onslaught to end. However, X leapt overhead and pointed his buster downward, launching from it a giant spiked ball. Zero rolled to the right and the tomahawk sliced through the ball, disappearing into the horizon in a matter of seconds.

X landed on the ground behind Zero and held his buster up, which began to spread open to reveal some built-in accoustics. X slanted his brows and had a bit of a smile on his face, while Zero was left with a hesitant grimace as he stumbled on to his feet.

 _Inside of a diesel garage, Mega Man raised his brows and was at a loss for words when his ears were assaulted by some heavy metal tunes. Sitting atop a stack of rubber tires was a tall, chrome robot with an oddly put together set of parts that seemed to resemble a car. The robot bobbed his head poorly in tune with the music, beat-boxing to the lyrics and making Mega Man's ears hurt even more._

" _...H-Has Wily just run out of ideas...?" Mega Man held his hands up to his hearing receptors and squinting his eyes partway shut. Thankfully, the moment this robot known as Turbo Man saw his guest, the music shut down and he shot to his feet with a three-hundred sixty degree spin and a spurt of his shoulder turbines._

" _So you're the whack robot getting in the doc's grill. That ain't gonna fly anymore dude!" Turbo Man pretended to click his tongue while pointing a finger gun at his enemy._

" _...Lets just get this over with." Mega Man remarked with a blank look in his eyes._

From his buster, X unleashed a disharmonious blast of pure sound upon Zero, which became a rupturous shriek in his ears in a couple of seconds. Zero dropped to his knees and clasped his hands against the sides of his head, but the damage spread out to the rest of his body and began to peel off his plating. The ringing in Zero's ears dazed him for a moment, but felt like it lasted a minute. When he could stabilize himself, he found a shadow being cast over his body that wasn't there before.

He almost didn't want to look up, but his body disobeyed his commands and his head tilted back. A 'cloud' composed of a dozen bubbles contained timed bombs rested in the sky, and with a sharp snap of his fingers X caused the cloud to pop and deposit all the bombs towards Zero. He leapt back and dodged the many explosions, but the moment he landed he was caught up by a powerful suction beyond anything he'd ever experienced before in his life. He looked up, and his jaw slacked in surprise.

 _A large city was consumed by a raging inferno. Citizens were in a panic as an army of strange, extraterrestial robots ravaged everything they could find. In the center of the inferno was a robot with a lime-green mane and a blue-white suit of armor, commanding the utmost respect from all of his troops. Mega Man flew down on top of his robotic dog Rush, proclaiming through the terrified cries of the populace, "Stop this! Stop this now!"_

 _The leader of these troops turned around and cracked a grin, snapping his fingers a couple times to calm his troops down for a moment, "Well, well...I didn't think you'd be any condition to stand let alone fight..."_

 _Mega Man hopped off Rush and the two landed in the middle of the streets, and the strange robot brandished his right hand out and proclaimed, "But nothing's changed! You'll succumb to the might of the Stardroids just like before!"_

" _Why are you doing this?! Robots aren't supposed to attack humans!" Mega Man proclaimed with confusion._

" _Heh! Maybe_ _ **you**_ _can'_ _t, but those restrictions don't apply to us! As for why we're doing this, well..." The robot swung his arms out and proclaimed, "What better planet to create a paradise for robots than one where they currently buckle under the labors of their masters?!"_

" _I won't let you do this! Humans and robots are supposed to live together in harmony, not tear each other apart!" Mega Man stood in defiance._

" _Ha! So naive! Maybe I oughta knock some sense into that primative mind of yours, Mega Man!"_

 _Then, another robot dropped down between the two, this one composed of a strange green gelatinous frame with spikes protruding out from the back of their head, "You already wasted enough time on this punk Terra! Let me take a crack at him while you work on the Dark Moon!"_

" _Heh, you know what...You never get to have any fun Mercury. Go ahead, take your time! Just make sure not to damage him too much!" Terra dashed away in a flash, and though Mega Man tried to pursue Mercury dissolved and reformed his body to get in his path in a second. With knuckles cracked Mercury proclaimed with a menacing smirk, "Sorry kid, but your planet now belongs to the Stardroids! Too bad you had to choose the losing side of this fight!"_

Zero stabbed his blade into the ground and tried his hardest to fend off the unknown phenomenon present before him, for with the powers granted to him by the Stardroids slain long ago X had managed to summon above his head a massive Black Hole. Everything within a one-mile radius was swallowed in without remorse, and it took every bit of strength and concentration Zero had just to hold on.

But X wasn't held down by any restrictions, and after buckling both his feet down on the ground he zipped forward at lightspeed and rammed his right shoulder into Zero's chest. Knocking the robot off his feet, he dragged him away from the pull of the fading Black Hole in the span of a second, sending him tumbling along the ground at least half the distance away. X then swung his right hand back and it started to crackle with a thunderstorm's worth of electricity.

 _Inside of a highly protected military facility, Mega Man was facing down a blue-ish robot with a body shaped like a grenade. But something was off with this robot, as their body was surrounded by an aura of dark energy. With a maddening glare, the robot used their buster to assault the facility with their grenades, "Hahahaha! Crush it...! Crush it ALL!"_

" _This Robot Master's destroying everything! Is this a result of the Evil Energy?"_

" _It's very likely, Mega Man. You must stop him before this entire place comes crashing down, and then bring the sample of Evil Energy back to me!" Dr. Light proclaimed._

" _Got it!" Mega Man rushed out from behind cover and took aim with a charged shot..._

X thrust his arm forward with a roar, summoning a claw made out of pure blue electricity that flew through the air faster than Zero was moving away from him. The three-clawed limb opened wide and clasped Zero down like binding a rat in a cage, and with a simple tug X reeled him back in. Dispelling the electricity while at the same time bending at the knees, X laid down a giant fan that spun around to created a tornado. Zero was swept up in it and sent flying fifty feet off the ground, after which X threw a few flashing bombs into the tornado that collided into Zero's backside with a flash so bright it left his eyes flaring up in blinding pain.

X took a couple steps back and caught his breath. The memories of the past were becoming clearer with each iteration he experienced, and they helped him to understand perfectly how each power he acquired operated. Taking a moment to offer his thanks to his predecessor for his hardwork and dedication, X delved back into the past to recall another memory...

 _In a refridgeration preserve, Mega Man met up with a chilly robot with an igloo shaped head and a minty, tank-like build. Cuddling his arms against his chest to keep himself warm, Mega Man's teeth clattered while he looked at his opponent, Cold Man, and asked of him, "C-Cold Man...Why are you following King's orders?"_

" _A robot revolution is coming, Mega Man. I'm just getting ahead of the pack." The Robot Master spoke with a cold, stoic voice._

" _R-Revolution?"_

" _I'm sorry. I have no personal grudge against you Mega Man, but if you stand in the way of my freedom then I'm going to have to put you on ice...Forever." A cold fog pushed out from the creases in the Robot Master's body, and he had no hesitation to fight._

X rose up off the ground surrounded by sparks, calling upon a massive storm cloud above Zero's body. Slamming his hands downward with a bellowing roar, X smited his friend with a swift, powerful lightning bolt. The Tornado Hold was shattered and Zero came crashing down.

Even with his body steaming from head-to-toe, Zero pushed himself up and faced X with a hung head, clasping his sword tight in his grasp when it was freed for but a moment.

"Kill you...I'll kill you...!" Zero limped forward with the strength of a zombie, a hollow look in his eyes as he swung his right arm up to slash down at X. X raised his buster and squinted one eye, knowing only pity towards his friend's terrible condition.

 _Mega Man sprinted through the hallway of an observatory, at his side the Robot Master Bomb Man, who commented on the situation the two were in with a rough and gritty voice, "Can't believe for a second the doc's gone bad! Why would anyone listen to a thing that devious Wily has to say?!"_

" _I don't know, but we can't let Dr. Light rot away in jail while Wily runs free. Thanks again for helping out, Bomb Man." As the two neared the door Mega Man smiled at Bomb Man, who slapped his 'brother' on the back and grinned as well._

" _Ah come on now, no need to be such a softie Rock! You and the doc gave me a second chance at life, this isn't nearly enough to repay ya!"_

 _The two leapt through the door and landed in a digitized representation of space, and in the center of it flew a robot with sleek silver body and a head shaped like a UFO. With it's pixel-y red eyes, the robot known as Galaxy Man looked down upon his company and spoke with a chiptune tone, "HAVE YOU COME TO DE-CO-MISSION ME?"_

" _Galaxy Man, stop this rampage at once! There's no reason for it!"_

" _I DON'T WANT TO DIE-DIE-DIE. PLEASE LEAVE-AVE-AVE!" Galaxy Man went spastic, his body flashing a broad range of colors._

" _He's scared Rock...I know ya hate to do it, but..." Bomb Man pulled out a bomb but looked to his 'brother' for confirmation to fight. Mega Man trembled and then pointed his buster up, saying with a worried stutter, "I-I know...We don't have any other choice!"_

" _THEN DIE-DIE-DIE!" Galaxy Man swooped down at his two enemies._

X had started to unravel the beginnings of conflict between man and machine that Dr. Light had mentioned before. It was rather disheartening to know that even after all this time, peace between both sides hadn't been found, and for a second X had doubted the cause he was pursuing because of that. But with Zero looming right before him he had no time to hesitate and resumed his aim, firing a glob of pure concrete from his buster.

The concrete attached to Zero's chest and spread out to cover his entire body, including his sword. Stiffened in mid-air like a statue, Zero was in a prime condition for X to wail on him for a bit longer. The robot swung his hands out and summoned a two-sided laser trident in both hands.

Starting off by stabbing the top prongs into Zero's chest, breaking through the concrete and penetrating his innards by an inch. X couldn't afford to hold back, he had to be as rough as possible. Following up on that strike, X twirled around and sliced into the concrete with both sides of the trident, then planted both feet down and uppercutted Zero into the air with the weapon grasped in one hand. The concrete shattered fully, but Zero was not fully freed from the onslaught.

X leapt up and spun the trident overhead with delicate alternation of which hand grabbed the center of the weapon, and his whirling motion led to Zero being struck multiple times until X was above him. At point the robot levitated back a little and then threw his trident like a javelin, puncturing Zero's chest deeper and plowing him into the ground.

The trident disintegrated and Zero pulled himself up, stumbling once halfway upright. He held onto his sword and panted, looking up at X with a hazy glaze to his eyes. Zero knew he was built to tackle all the powers that X was displaying at the present moment, so the fact that he was being battered around like a mere rag doll just served to leave a rage boiling internally in his mind.

"I'm...supposed to be the strongest...Why...are you stronger than me?!" Zero demanded to know, putting all his energy into stamping his right foot forward. X landed on the ground, staying at least ten feet away from his friend with his head hung a bit. He closed his eyes and remained silent, and Zero lashed his tongue out at the robot with a proclamation of, "ANSWER ME!"

Even with weakened legs, Zero picked up his sword and prepared to sprint forward for a desperate attack. X squirmed for a second as he recognized the sheer anguish in his friend's voice.

" _I'm sorry Zero..."_

 _In the most recent memory of Mega Man's that X could draw on, the Blue Bomber was inside of a torn-apart baseball stadium, finding himself in the center of a baseball covered field. Standing on the pitcher's mound was a Robot Master designed to have the body of a baseball, and a pitcher's glove in his left hand. The Robot Master had gone mad, firing baseballs in all sorts of directions while proclaiming incoherent nonsense._

" _HAHAHAH! HAHAHA!" Only it's laughter made any lick of sense._

" _The Roboenza Virus is getting worse. At this rate, all the robots across the continent will be infected!" Mega Man was cautious in pointing his buster at the robot called Strike Man, as he worried about getting infected if he did something wrong._

X thought on this memory too for a nanosecond. He had heard Roboenza from Dr. Light as well, and wondered if perhaps said virus was the prototype of the Maverick Virus. In that case, he also wondered if the vaccine program inside of his body could be used to remove the Maverick Virus from Zero's body for good...

Worrying about that would have to wait, however, as Zero was coming at him and left little time for him to ponder. X raised his right arm up and above his head above three giant broadswords appeared, spinning around as they pointed down at Zero and launched forward. Zero stood still and swung his saber out, using just the bare minimum strength necessary to deflect the blades' paths.

But in the time it took him to do all that, X prepared one final attack to knock Zero out. A cataclysmic blaze radiated throughout the datascape, burning to cinders all the buildings that lied around it. Zero crossed his arms before his face and tried to avoid looking directly towards the source of the light, a giant sun that floated above X's raised hands.

Through the crackles of raging flames, X held his head up high and proclaimed, "I'm going to eliminate the Maverick Virus for good...AND UNDO ALL OF THE MISTAKES OF THE PAST, STARTING WITH YOUR ENSLAVEMENT TO THE VIRUS' POWER!"

The sun shook and unleashed devastating flares that ripped through any buildings that still stood erect, and with his eyes popping wide open X looked straight at the viral aura around Zero and screamed, "DISAPPEAR...FOR GOOD!"

The sun burst apart and ravaged the lands in two directions with a titantic wave of pure solar heat. Zero was swept up in it's wrathful grasp and thrown to the wayside like a piece of debris in a perfect storm. Two deep, charred scars were etched into the ground for miles in both directions, and X stood in the center of the devastation a little shaken by the power he had to unleash. The moment the air cooled down, X clenched his hands at his fists and wore an expression of concern as he dashed ahead to find Zero.

"Zero! Zero!" He called out his name in hopes of a response, but instead was left speechless as he found Zero still stand upright in the center of a burning crevice. The right side of his face had been melted off, revealing the skeletal metallic structure underneath, and his arm had been fried to the point of being unable to latch onto his Z-Saber. Still he scowled with an undying rage, murmuring under his breath wishes of death towards X as he got closer.

"Zero...Please stop this." X granted his friend the utmost pity and empathy from deep within his heart, but with a snarling lash Zero exclaimed, "KILL YOU...KILL YOU...!"

The bitter rage of his friend was like an arrow through X's heart, but he wanted to have faith there was still a chance to correct this mistake. Concentrating deep within himself, X began to raise his right hand towards Zero's forehead, where the Virus seemed to come from.

" _My masterpiece..."_

A voice whispering in the sky caused X to wrench his hand back without any understanding why. Zero, with his pupils shrinking, then found his body lurching upward with the viral aura letting out a pulsation similar to a heartbeat. X was pushed back by the wave of energy even after raising his arms to block it, and then looked up as the sky was all of a sudden blocked out by hundreds of the same image appearing in a distorted fashion.

The picture depicted a man standing in front of a monitor with the familiar "W" symbol shining so brightly on it that the man himself was bathed in shadows. But X had seen enough to know who that man was. It was Zero's creator, the nefarious Dr. Wily. And this image appeared to be ripped straight from Zero's memories, as the madman directed his creation without a shred of humanity to his voice.

" _After him!"_

" _After him!"_

" _He is my nemesis."_

" _Nemesis!"_

" _Our rivalry is what gives me motivation in life."_

" _In life!"_

" _Now go!"_

" _Go!"_

" _DESTROY HIM!"_

" _DESTROY HIM!"_

" _DESTROY HIM!"_

All the images echoed the same thing, drilling this command into Zero's ears whether he wanted to hear it or not. X shook, the cacophony of madness sounding more cruel or vile than anything he had ever heard before. Zero slammed his hands against the sides of his head and screamed as he pulled it back, the pulsations around his body coming out at a faster rate than before.

The images broke down, and from them emerged a violent series of streams composed entirely of the Zero Virus. X was launched back as all the streams collided upon Zero's body, raising up a red-violet typhoon that reached the top of what at first appeared to be a boundless sky. Zero was caught up in the center of it, his screamed going silent.

"Ghhh...Ghhh...!" X held on for dear life as a desolate, overwhelming power washed over his body and threatened to sweep him up into it's thrall. The Zero Virus, having a finite amount, ended it's onslaught in a matter of seconds, and the imagery of Dr. Wily's insanity vanished out of view. But now the skies were darkened, appearing much like they did outdoors, and the datascape had now turned into a scene right out of a post-apocalyptic movie. Worst of all, a horrible, putrid smell began to be recognized by X. It was the smell...of burning, human corpses.

As the tornado died down, X found his body shaking. Something unimaginable was about to emerge, a God of Destruction birthed by a combination of human genius and inhuman insanity. Crimson lightning crackled from Zero's body as he descended to the ground, the viral aura around him so thick it was almost impossible to see him.

His armor had transformed to take on a pitch black color where the red parts were, and any damages he had taken were repaired. His power could not be calculated, for it could no longer be felt. But X knew that Zero was far beyond any human, any robot, any Reploid...Him and X stood alone atop the rest of the world, a pair of deities amongst mortal beings. But while X represented harmony, Zero was chaos incarnate, the ultimate testament of the destructiveness that humanity is capable of performing if left unchecked.

Zero opened his eyes and looked deep into X's own with a burning bright crimson glare. He hunched forward and picked up his Z-Saber, giving it one hard swing out to the right. There was a second of delay, but all the ruined buildings were atomized into nothingness. X's mouth dropped, agape in frightful awe, while Zero's grin and eyes widened to show the glee he took in the carnage.

"This world shall be cleansed...!" He proclaimed, his voice conjoined with the echoes of another, and as X focused upon him once more Zero laid his sword at the hip and swung his other arm out before declaring, "I am the messiah! HA HA HA!"

 _Next Time: Cannonball into Madness_


	18. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16: X vs. Zero III: Wily's Wish for Destruction**

X looked into the eyes of his friend and shifted his body with knuckles buckling down against the hips. All the Hunter could see was pure insanity, and not a single shred of his friend's humanity remained. It had been drowned out by the heavy concentration of the virus that was now shackled inside of his ebony body.

Yet, even though it seemed like all hope was lost of bringing Zero back from the brink of madness, X **refused** to surrender. He kept his body stiffened and unshaken as he raised his left hand up and shifted it into a buster. As his limb was in mid-shift, the left of Zero's grin shifted just a tiny bit and he leaned forward with sword raised beside his shoulder.

In a nanosecond, Zero was right in front of X with the blade halfway swung towards his chest. X's eyes perked up and he swung himself back to avoid the edge of the blade with near narrow timing. The second Zero planted his right foot down past X's body and began to turn, the ground along the distance he covered erupted with a plume of dust at least ten feet high.

Zero twisted his wrist to swing his blade out from his chest horizontally, aiming this time for X's neck. X froze up for a brief moment, the hellish gaze the black destroyed offered up paralyzing in it's presence, but then grit his teeth and stamped both his feet down. Twisting the feet in different directions out from his body, X bent down and sacrifced the prongs on the front of his helmet in order to go on the offensive.

He pulled his right fist back and tightened his knuckles to the point of his metallic joints cracking with a resounding echo inside his body, watching as Zero swung his blade up over the head without taking a pause in his movements. It was a graceful but focused motion, designed only for the purpose of destroying the target in his sights. But X wasn't going to fold to perfection, he would overcome it even if it strained his body beyond it's limits.

His fist, held back as far as his joints would allow, created a fist half as big as X's body complete with a pair of rockets aside the wrists for greater strength. X smashed this fist into Zero's chest, and the ground behind him cracked apart and sent chunks of rocks skyward in an arc. The blade fell from Zero's hands and onto the ground beside him, and X detached the fist after commanding the rockets on it to fire off at full force.

Pressure wrapped around Zero's back like a bubble and prevented him from pulling away as the fist barreled through the air. Zero didn't flinch in the slightest and slammed his feet into the ground, dredging up a pair of massive trenches while puncturing the sides of the fist with his fingertips. Sparks flew out from the fist until it no longer bear Zero's strength and began to crumble up, followed by the rockets shutting down after a couple pitiful spurts of flame.

Zero grinned and cackled behind it as he raised the fist over his head. Looking over the apocalyptic horizon, he found a bombardment of high-speed emerald boomerrangs coming his way. Zero flung the fist forward with all his might, and it slid along the ground while absorbing the brunt of the projectiles. X rushed forward and bounced on top of and off the fist, swinging his fists out and summoning a ring of large diamonds around his body as he levitated in mid-air.

His body brightened in a pale flash of light and released eight lasers in the directions of all the diamonds, all of them absorbing and amplifying their power. X thrust his right hand out and released the energy from the top clockwise around towards Zero. Zero hunched forward and anticipated the lasers, even as they sped forth at lightspeed, zipping away the very moment they were near his face. Each movement he made got him closer to X's position, and by the time the eighth laser went off X shattered the diamonds and flew back.

Zero lunged off the ground in a flash and stabbed his elbow into X's neck, causing his eyes to bulge out a tiny bit. Before gravity could force him down, Zero swiped his hands down dozens of time in a blur, trying to claw away at the Ultimate Armor. All the while, he was laughing.

X grit his teeth and pulled back just enough to raise his feet and press them against Zero's chest. With a burst of fire from the thrusters, X managed to repel Zero back. Zero swung his buster up and fired, but the blast he fired was like a corrupted ball of violet flames as big as his body.

X spun around but didn't manage to evade the shot in time, and thus it rammed into the front of his body and dragged him down towards the ground at the same time as Zero. A pillar of fire erupted from the spot X landed on, releasing a dark red hue around it. Not even for a second did Zero believe that X succumbed to that attack, and rushed forward to rip his body out from the flames.

The edge of the pillar pushed outward at the base, bursting open from the energy X released from his armor. Seeing Zero charging in, X raised his right hand and grappled his fingers around Zero's extended fist. The impact ruptured the ground below the two with an ever-growing pulse of air that swept the ground clean of all dirt for half a mile around.

X grabbed onto Zero's elbow with the other hand and prevented his escape, then whipped his body back and threw Zero overhead to piledrive him into the ground. X repeated this process three more times before Zero managed to reverse his body and plant both feet down, using X's grasp as a perfect means to throw him overhead and hammer him head-first into the ground.

Zero then leapt a foot back and smashed the ground with an energized fist, cracking the surface of the ground twenty feet before and behind him. Curved projectiles shot forth from the cracks two at a time, but only one was necessary to rip X out. Zero then leapt up and wrapped his hands around X's hips, spinning wildly around six times before throwing him straight down at the ground.

X was lucky to have his feet downward when he was tossed, as he stomped down with all his might and dredged up an elongated mound of dirt on both sides of his body as he tried to stop. Gathering energy in his right buster, X fired a charged shot along the ground to intercept Zero's descent, only for the destroyer to smash the ground with his fist the mount he landed to summon a pillar of energy around himself for defense.

The first pillar sufficed to drain half the energy from the plasma ball, and from there Zero grabbed the projectile between his hands and squeezed it into nothingness. With his arms crossed before the chest, Zero flashed a prideful grin towards X and then ran forward, ramming his arms into X's abdomen before he had a chance to respond.

The two flew back above multiple feet of the trenches they had dug up, with Zero's intent to breech X's defenses foiled by the robot's quick wits. X managed to lift a hand up onto Zero's shoulder and used it along with a kick from his thrusters to vault over and position himself upside-down behind the destroyer. X charged his buster in a second and locked Zero in his sights as he spun around, firing the large projectile outward the moment his body had turned all the way.

Zero held his palms up and caused a ripple to echo across the front of the sphere, but couldn't hold it back for long. His elbows bent back in, pressuring his whole body backward through the trenches to deepen them further. But Zero still smiled, for he found immense pleasure in the power X displayed before him. Even crazed out of his mind, Zero retained just a tiny bit of cunning necessary to overcome X's charged shot. Zero leaned his back backwards, pushing his hands up and causing the charged shot to raise.

Then, Zero let himself fall flat on the back so the charged shot would fly completely over him. With that obstacle removed from his path, Zero stood up and swung his left hand out to clasp the nearby Z-Saber back around his fingers. Right on time too, as X dove down with a large drill extending from his left arm.

Zero rose up with an uppercutting slash, electrifying the blade so it'd malfunction the drill the moment it struck. The drill reversed directions and detached off of X's arm before flying towards the ground. Then, right above X, Zero dove both feet down onto X's back and grounded him in a second. Zero leapt and stamped his feet down twice more to burrow X's face into the dirt.

Once X's body stopped moving, Zero leapt twenty feet up and spun his blade around in one hand before grabbing it in both and stabbing it downward. With hot enough flames to melt through the thickest concrete, Zero was poised to melt through X's body and his core. X, sensing the heat through his thermal receptors even that far into the dirt, planted his right palm against the ground as it frosted over.

A second later, a spiked brushel of ice erupted from around X's body for protection. Zero's flames melted the ice down into steam and dropped him down where X was. He began swinging his sword around wildly, but the steam was too thick for him to clear and he knew he wasn't cleaving even an inch into anything resembling X's "flesh".

After some frantic swinging for a few seconds, Zero panted and snarled then jerked his head to the right and saw X standing with his buster pointed forward. Zero lunged forward and pushed the steam away as he slashed his sword straight down the enter of X's body. The steam cleaved in twine, but exposed that the "X" he attacked wasn't real. It was a perfect imitation, right down to the blurs of light in the arm cannon, but the contact with the Z-Saber distorted the visage like static.

Zero looked up, and found that X was levitated in mid-air with energy exuding around his body like a radiant aura. With a mighty roar the Hunter swung his arms out and summoned a few gigantic shards of ice above the area Zero was in. Each came crashing down and were immediately replaced with a few more so long as X kept his concentration up. Zero zipped back and avoided the first, then looked up at the second falling down and leapt at it, vaulting off the top of it to fly straight at X.

Zero leaned his body forward and dashed straight ahead surrounded by a backwards crescent of ice, ramming into X's body with all his might and knocking him out of the sky. X planted firmly on his feet and set his thrusters to overdrive, levitating off the ground from the pressure until he rocketed straight back up at the suspended Zero.

Zero spun around in a complete circle with blade extended out, launching a dark golden crescent at X. The Hunter charged up energy in the blink of an eye and then surrounded himself with a spinning barrier of energy, puncturing right through the center of the attack and then clocking Zero in the chest with his right elbow.

Bouncing back to a higher position, X concentrated on the ground and gravitated six large boulders that he ripped free from the surface to him. He rotated them out from his body about ten feet away, smashing each one into the bottom of Zero's body. On the last stone though, Zero landed upon it and darted straight ahead at X, slicing him horizontally across the chest.

Sparks flew forth from the breech but only for a moment, as Zero spun around and sealed it up by planting his right foot into it to kick X down to the ground. X landed on his heels and had to push his toes down before he fell on the back. His stumbling cost him a couple precious seconds, and Zero slammed down with a flaming blade to unleash a hellish eruption of magma underneath X's feet.

X looked down, paying attention to the specific points the cracks were forming in order to keep himself on somewhat solid footing as the chunks of rock flew skyward. X looked down, seeing Zero pulling his blade back with an electrified appearance to it, all too ready to pursue.

X pointed his buster downward and fired an orb of crystal at Zero's feet, striking it before he managed to budge even an inch off the ground. He was pinned down by a thick hexagonal crystal heavier than his body, and immediately took his electrified blade and stabbed it into the crystal to shatter it. In the three seconds it took him to do that, X managed to dive down and plow both his fists into Zero's chests.

X pulled back the moment he struck, raising his buster up and firing two charged shots in a row. Zero cleaved down the first one then uppercutted the second with a flaming blade. He spun forward and relased the fire in the form of a wave, which X split with a single punch forward. Then he swung his arms out and from his busters summoned two blue flame swords.

He sprinted forward after Zero, who leapt back as X rose up and spun around with a light fluidity to his movements. The moment he was pointed forward again he jabbed the right blade forward at Zero's chest. Zero shifted to the left and let the blade slip under his armpit, slashing his own forward only to clash with X's other blade.

The two engaged in swordplay for a little bit, with X focusing on precise motions while Zero countered with raw power. Their blades swung around faster and faster until even their arms could no longer be seen in the flurry of slashes they performed. Sparks flew forth in a rain from their clash, a display that would be almost too fitting in a fireworks show.

After a good minute of fighting with neither side relenting, the two swung their weapons behind the back of their heads and had the same exact thought. All sounds were thrown to the muted void as the atmosphere's colors inverted, time freezing for everything but X and Zero. As they moved their blades towards each other's chest, X widened his eyes and put a great deal of strain on his mind as he doubled down on the stagnation of time.

The next iteration of time stopping left a series of sparkles in the sky, and Zero began to slow down. X's mind throbbed and cracked at the seams, and he froze time even further with a blinding flash of intense light from his body. Zero grit his teeth and fought against the frozen time with all his strength, the downard push he applied to his arms to swing the blade causing the bizarre atmosphere to crack around him.

X's mind popped at the edges, and his body began to overheat at every crease and crack his armor had. One more time, he activated a crystallic flash from his body and time grinded to a complete and utter halt. Even the molecules in the air froze up, creating an even more bizarre sight to behold as the thousands of individual molecules that composed X's body and blades sliced down across the molecules that composed Zero's body in a couple milliseconds.

Time resumed and everything surrounding the two fighters returning to normal, and Zero received the full brunt of X's assault. Having frozen time in multiple layers, X's blades had built up far more force and speed than they would have had normally, creating a flaming cross whose tips breeched the ceiling hundreds of feet above. Zero's armor was split open in the chest, but not deep enough to penetrate his vulnerable wiring.

X hunched over and panted, the flaming blades dissipating from sight as he tried to catch his breath. However, Zero gave him no quarter and wrenched his left hand around X's neck, hoisting him up and squeezing until he could see the whites of his eyes. Zero grasped his blade over the shoulder and then stabbed it deep into X's abdomen.

The blade was twisted, wiggled around to try and penetrate the vital parts of X's systems. Zero refused to breech the other side and laughed the entire time he had X at his mercy, with gaze hollowed of all emotions besides a sickening madness. X grinded his teeth together and then wrenched his hands around the wrist Zero's blade was in.

He didn't waste even a second after, unleashing millions of volts upon Zero's body until the robot found himself being forced to relent against his will. X dropped to the ground and, despite concerns for the wound in his gut, fought through the pain and smashed his right fist square into Zero's jaw. Zero was forced back a couple steps but came back out swinging.

X threw his right arm up to block the attack, but the edge of the blade dug itself into his armor with a deep cut. Even with the excrutiating pain radiating from the wound, X tugged his arm back and pulled Zero in closer, punching him even harder in the face than he did before.

X then raised both his hands up and gathered light before the palm, unleashing a burning beam of pure energy into Zero's body. Zero crossed his arms and advanced ahead one difficult step at a time, forcing X to amplify its power until it was doubled in size.

Zero was swallowed up in the beam's might, his feet becoming unglued from the ground as he's sent flying a good distance away. X lowered his hands and gave himself another short break, watching as Zero went colliding with a fallen building.

X flew forward and pointed his buster with a charge down at the crater Zero's impact made, and fired the moment he saw movement. Zero's aura cleared the smoke and he raised his buster, this time firing a strange blue-ring projectile that looked like a coiled, boney spine. The attack sliced through the projectile and flew upward with a curve, going straight for X's location.

X flipped over the attack and spun around, but the projectile paused where he once was before flying after him again. X widened his eyes and flew back as fast as he could, surprised to find that the projectile could keep up with him. He aimed his buster forward and concentrated energy into a fine point, shooting it out in the form of a piercing arrow. The very moment he broke through the ringed projectile, X flinched as his feet were struck by a sharp wave of energy from below.

His thrusters exploded, and gravity dragged him to the ground as though he was as heavy as a malfunctioning air liner. X pointed downward with his buster and fired a charged shot at the ground to kick up a cloud of dirt and cover his movements. X landed safely but was immediately targeted by Zero, who saw through this miniscule deception and slashed forward with an extended blade.

X leapt back and the blade smashed upon the ground, kicking up a wave of pebbles that flew into X's body. He landed on the ground and punched forward, but Zero had already sped away to a different location. X shifted his gaze back and locked onto Zero's movements as he came charging in from behind. X tried to throw a backhanded punch but Zero ducked under it and sliced up into the side of X's body.

X flinched and planted his foot down, throwing another punch down with his other fist. Zero zipped behind X and cut up into the center of his armor, then retreated as X turned on a dime and launched a charged shot out. Zero tried to go for an attack from behind again, but this time X smirked and thrust his other buster up to fire a charged shot. Zero's swing intercepted the attack but pushed him away, giving X at least a couple seconds breathing space as Zero exerted effort to cleave the attack in two.

X looked at Zero and then examined himself. The two's armors were riddled with scars all-around, some deep, some not. But while X was starting to experience a weariness of energy, it didn't appear as though Zero suffered the same. X wasn't fooled in the slightest though. Zero was being forced to push him to the limit, fighting for a cause that deep down he wanted nothing to do with. There was only one conclusion Zero was being dragged to towards, and that was to annihilate X...or destroy himself trying.

Zero took a couple steps forward, dragging his tip of the blade along the ground before swinging it up before the chest, hiding a tense grin behind it's sunlit glow. X panted a little and then strengthed his resolve, clenching his fists against the hips. One look into Zero's eyes was enough to know they were thinking the same thing.

To decide the destined battle they'd put everything they've got into one final assault. It'd be an all-or-nothing gambit on both sides, and either one or both of them would find themselves destroyed. If Zero succeeds, the Earth was doomed to extermination, and Wily would achieve his final wish. But even if X won and somehow purged the virus from his friend, there was no guarantee that Light's wish for peace would come to fruition.

Even with victory seeming pyrrhic in nature for him, X clutched hope close to his heart and refused to let go. Imagining the concern Alia and Signas had for him, feeling the warmth of Mega Man and Roll inside of his mind, and believing for almost a second that Dr. Light was watching from afar...That was all the motivation X needed to fight on with everything...No, BEYOND everything he had available to him.

X grit his teeth and clenched his fists up at the sides of his chest. His feet both dug into the ground and left the area around it cracked and unraveled. He concentrated deep within himself, focusing on what gave him purpose. The pebbles around his feet rose up and the battlefield trembled. As he gathered all the power he had inside of himself and then some, steam spurted forth from his Ultimate Armor like miniature geysers, his body heating up to the point of melting the ground around his feet.

"Ghh...GHhh...RRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" X screamed until his vocal cords began to shred apart within, releasing a super-hot, golden flash from his body that stretched up towards the ceiling.

When the flash subsided, X's armor was white-hot and with his eyes burning red and gold, his body generating high-heats at a constant rate. He felt was though he was ready to burst at any given second, and his mind was swelling with an overwhelming sensation of power. All he was capable of focusing on was Zero, who stood unflinching with giggles of gleeful anticipation. X moved one step forward, given only one path forward and no way back, and the ground collapsed before he even set his foot down. Looking Zero in the eyes, X opened his mouth up wide and roared with the utmost determination.

"ZEEEEEERRRROOOOOO!" Then he charged, disappearing from sight as his body entered a state beyond lightspeed.

"X!" Zero yelled just as loud, the two's cries not entering each others' ears until he vanished with the same level of speed the moment his body erupted with the power of the virus.

The two met together with elbows rammed into each other and the grounds where they stood burst apart with raw energy, gushing skyward fifty feet high. Their collision lasted only a second before they pulled back and tried to outmaneuver their opponent with a better use of agility. But they met together again and collided their fists, bearing their knuckles together until the fingers crunched up and began to split.

A crater formed where their first collision occurred by the time they parted from their second clash, and then the two clashed with each other at least a dozen more times in the span of a couple seconds. Each time they greeted each other with a punch, meeting on equal terms every single instance. Then they reunited where they clash began in the very center of the room, grabbing each others hands and digging their feet in deep as they tried to overpower each other.

A series of explosions went off where they fought, the combined force of all that energy pressing against the ceiling. After just a couple seconds it was incapable of holding it back any longer and burst open like a full balloon, exposing the outside world to a cascading power beyond anything it's ever witnessed before.

X and Zero stood in the center of the unfolding madness, neither making any headway towards their efforts. The two growled and focused, X's vision blurred to everything but the sight of Zero. Zero budged forward, but X did the same. They were in sync, finding and exploiting every flaw they had with perfect precision. It wasn't Zero's programming that allowed him to keep up with X's efforts, it was the bond they had shared over the years as Maverick Hunters that unified their burning hearts in deadly combat.

" _Commander Sigma...I-I hope I'm not late."_

" _You're the new recruit...X right? Don't concern yourself with tardiness, we had to figure out who would partner with you on patrol today anyways."_

" _Partner up? I-I'm ready to work with anyone you have!"_

" _Heh, such enthusiasm will get you far in this profession...For now. Now then, allow me to introduce you to your partner. He's the captain of the 0_ _th_ _Division, Zero."_

" _So you're X huh? Welcome to the Maverick Hunters."_

" _I'm...happy to meet you, Captain Zero."_

" _Don't be so formal. Just call me Zero. I hope you show a lot of promise, X."_

X could recall their first meeting with a warm fondness. Even back then, the two were connected by fate, but never could X have expected for that fate to guide them towards being adverseries. Everything seemed so simple back then, even with the world in the beginning stages of the Maverick revolution, and a part of X desired a return to those simpler days.

But that's not the hand he was dealt. He was to fight this eternal fight until peace was found, even if it led to his own destruction. However, he refused, absolutely **refused** to let Zero's path end in destruction, whether it was his own or via carrying out Wily's vengeance against the world.

X dug his feet down and pressed his palms against Zero's, then lifted one foot forward and planted it down. It was as though he was weighed down by an entire planet, dragging it through an endless sea of hatred, but he had to press on.

100%...101%...102%...The power that X utilized was overloading his body, pushing it beyond it's own expected limitations. He raised Zero's arms up and stuck his head in a foot away, then leaned back and rammed his forehead in with the blunt force of a hammer. Zero's offense gave in and his body tilted back, him taking a couple dazy steps away before punching the ground and causing a pillar of energy to slam down around himself for protection.

X hopped back three times, evading a descending beam of light each time. He then swung his right arm up before his face and launched ahead, surrounding himself with raw golden energy and ramming straight into Zero's pillar. Zero punched the ground again to strengthen his defenses and repel X's attack. X didn't surrender and rammed in again, grinding up against the light and causing it to bend inward.

Zero grit his teeth and held on, but as his fist began to tremble X shattered the energy surrounding him and caused him to jerk upright with the virus around his body getting hazy. X broke free from his energy and descended with a glowing right hand swung back, slapping it down atop the gem on Zero's forehead. He concentrated on trying to eradicate the Maverick Virus, but Zero recovered and grabbed onto his Z-Saber to swing it straight down across X's chest.

X was thrown back by a projectile launched from the blade until he clapped his hands together to crush it. He was now separated thirty feet away from Zero and the plates of his Ultimate Armor were starting to crack, the an inferno raging internally inside of him. With hagged gasps, X was surprised to find that though he failed to expunge the virus, he had acquired a power off of Zero.

"Soul...Body...?" It took a moment to realize that it was a power from Split Mushroom, a Maverick Zero had mentioned fighting during the Repliforce whose power X had not managed to acquire. But a quick analysis of what the Soul Body was capable of didn't exactly fill X with hope that it'd turn the situation around in his favor.

Zero stood in place and swung his blade high over his head, channeling the full force of the Maverick Virus inside of the blade. The energy within expanded and turned bright crimson, growing taller and taller with every passing second. It was a geyser, a spiral that reached for the heavens with every intention to cleave even that sacred realm in twine.

X knew there was no running from this strike. It was the be-all end-all final attack, the moment that would decide humanity and Reploid-kind's history forevermore. X's body trembled but he held himself upright, shackling his feet to the ground and pointing his buster straight forward. He charged, putting everything he's got into one final, decisive shot.

The size of X's charged shot would in no way be greater than Zero's blade, but the Hunter didn't put even an iota of focus into that observation. There were just some things that could not be analyzed as data, and the victor of this battle would not come down to who had the most power, but rather whose heart was more attached to their respective cause.

" _What could cause somone to go Maverick anyways?"_

" _Program errors, short circuits, neuroelectronic brain...The very things that could give us Reploids our advanced processing powers could also be our very weakness."_

X squinted his eyes partway and listened as his body split at the seams. Maybe he wouldn't even get the chance to fire, his body was ready to self-destruct at any given second.

" _Sigma...I don't believe in any 'destiny'...However...If I did, the only destiny I'd believe in is the one where we will stop you and your insane goals!"_

X had put everything he had into the charged shot, but was hesitant to fire. Everything would be decided, but did he have the right to pull the trigger now?

 _"…Even with everything we deal with as Hunters, we have had some nice, peaceful moments X. Maybe one day Dr. Cain's perfect world will come to a reality, and humans and Reploids can co-exist without a single Maverick around to disturb the peace."_

X widened his eyes with a fiery passion and refused to hesitate even a second longer. Zero was primed to strike, and so was he. He would give him everything he had to offer, because that was the promise the two had made months ago. As X had made his decision, his body became lighter, and a soft, warm touch was felt upon his buster.

He looked to the right and could have sworn he was staring right into the eyes of one of the Robot Masters, specifically the playful and jumpy Cut Man. He was not alone, the other seven original Robot Masters were around him, their hands conjoined to his body so closely it was as though they were actually there. X looked around, and the crowd grew larger at a rapid pace. Every Robot Master, every Stardroid, and every Maverick whose powers he had within him gathered around and held their hands towards him, funneling their own energies into the charged shot.

They were unified for one purpose, to stand against the atrocious power that consumed Zero's body. Without a word, the hundreds of departed "souls" allowed their legacies to carry on through X's will and power, and with all of their hopes and desires combined X's charged shot exploded out of the buster with a rainbow radiance that could eclipse the light of a newborn star. Cracks bursting at the seams of his buster, X feared he could not carry the weight of these burdens alone until a couple more pairs of hands rested atop the buster and pushed it down to line up evenly with his chest.

X looked left then right, standing beside him the ones who he had the most to thank for his existence, Roll and Rock. The two gave him a tender smile and a nod of the head, approving X to take the shot. Looking up with a smile and his body hollowed of all self-doubt, X thrust his buster forward and held onto it with the other hand as Zero began to swing his titanic blade down.

"This is...OUR EVERYTHING...!"

X leaned forward and fired the charged shot out with all his effort put into it. The energy surged forth in an ever-expanding sphere of light while Zero's blade cleaved down, basking the entire battlefield in it's towering shadow. The charged shot and sword eclipsed their owners to such a vast degree that they were little more than ants. Despite the violent trembling the two attacks caused, their collision was rather silent.

The blade bent in a downward curve and laid itself out on top of the charged shot, which pushed forward with little resistance against it. Bolts of energy lashed out and overloaded the datascape, stripping apart the apocalyptic lands and replacing it with pure darkness in a matter of seconds. Zero held on tight, but the charged shot would not fold under his power. In fact, it actively denied and tore into it, getting ever closer to Zero's current position.

Zero found his arms being pushed up and over his head, the energy forcing his body back even as he left the ground cracked in an attempt to hold his position. Mania turned into panic, but Zero refused to let go of his blade even if it cost him his life. What was once a benefit now served as the one weakness X was able to exploit to perfection. Zero fought hard against the overwhelming power of X's hope, but after a minute of struggling the energy of his blade shattered and his arms flung back with the handle of the saber dropped to the ground.

The charged shot collided with his body and pushed every last atom of its composition into Zero's body, freezing him in an agonizing, staggering state of being as the viral aura gathered at his back and began to bulge outwards. The charged shot was **forcing** the Maverick Virus out, regardless of how much it squirmed in resistance, and soon enough every iota of it was dragged out. It manifested in the form of a towering phantasm attached to his back, it's head appearing to have an extended, rugged mustache on both sides and a pair of jagged, hateful red eyes.

Zero raised his hand to his head and the coloring of his armor shifted between black and red at a frantic pace, but his eyes remained the same. With a tired gaze, he looked up and watched as X came diving down with his right hand glowing bright green, the white-heat that consumed his armor burning out.

"ZEEEEERRROOOOO!" X screamed as he slammed the hand down on his forehead with enough force to drag his body back five feet along the ground. X squeezed down with all his might and forced his vaccine program into Zero's system along with the remains of his power.

The phantasm manifested behind Zero hunched forward and began to collapse upon both X and Zero, letting out an echoing howl of _"DESTROY! DESTROY! DESTROY!"_

Zero widened his eyes and bent back, gritting his teeth down and grabbing onto his Z-Saber quick as a whip. He then ignited the blade and stabbed it right through X's chest. Though the Hunter was left squirming in pain, he held on even tighter than before.

"IT'S TIME FOR YOU TO WAKE UP!" X let out one final scream as the manifestation of the virus' rage and hatred threatened to consume them both. Then, light shot forth from X and Zero's bodies and punctured through the virus, causing it to rear straight up in retreat. As it let out one bellowing screech, it's body continued to be penetrated by light from all over until the whole thing flashed bright and suffered complete and utter annihilation.

The moment the virus disappeared, Zero's arm went limp and he pulled the sword free from X's body before beginning to drop to his knees with a blank look in his eyes. X fell with him, but held onto his friend's shoulders to offer him support. X tried to get a good look at Zero's eyes, but his head was hung too low to see anything but the whites of his irises. X's vision was blurred and his systems were fried, he had to rely on pure instinct to determine if Zero was back to normal.

"Zero...? Zero...? Can you hear me? ZERO?!" X gave his friend a couple gentle shakes, but got no response. It was as if removing the virus had left Zero catatonic.

"Hahaha...Unbelieveable. To think, I've actually underestimated you yet again, X!"

"...T-That voice..." X lifted his head up with mouth partially agape, and him and Zero were blasted by a sweeping wave of azure energy. The two were thrown back, their bodies lying face-first on the ground. X crumpled his hands up into fists and pushed up, only managing an inch before his strength failed him. He was able to turn his head a bit to the left and could see someone approaching from the shadows, his familiar, disgusting face illuminated by the electrifying energy radiating from his hands.

"S-S-Sig...ma..."

"Congratulations X...You have proven yourself to be the strongest robot of them all! And you even managed to defy all odds by purging the Maverick Virus from Zero's body!" Sigma's grin was as wide as could be. He was ecstatic, riddled with the utmost glee.

"But now I must thank you...By pushing yourself and Zero to the limits, you have allowed my plans to finally reach fruition! Now...once I have eliminated the last traces of consciousness from your body, I will take from both of your bodies what is rightfully mine!"

"I...I...I won't..." X tried to lift himself up again, but collapsed in a weakened heap.

"You've been a thorn in my side for a long time X, but I will admit...You have earned my respect. Take comfort in knowing that both you and Zero shall be remembered...IN MY NEW WORLD!" Sigma let loose the energy contained within his hands upon X, who refused to close his eyes and punched the ground with all his might, letting out a defiant but pained roar.

A collision and explosion happened all-at-once, covering in the battlefield in a bright flash of light. Sound managed to pierce its way through, and X found hope in the form of a familiar voice.

"N-Not on my watch...Sigma! Y-You and your 'new world' can go to hell!"

X looked up, having now found the strength to lift his upper body more than a couple inches off the ground. His eyes widened in awe as the light faded, but he didn't need it to part all the way to realize who had come to his rescue.

"Z-ZERO!" He exclaimed, his voice unable to contain his surprise and happiness. Zero stood up all the way, his arms stretched out and both steam and sparks shooting forth from his body as he grit his teeth and held the line before his friend.

Sigma looked on with brows raised in momentary shock, but then creased his teeth together into a delighted grin as he began to chuckle.

"Well, well...So the cockroach refuses to die easy after all. I can hardly believe you have the strength to stand let alone fight, God of Destruction!"

"What can I say...? Guess the sight of your ugly mug just pisses me off that much!" Zero's cocky smirk brought a scowl to Sigma's face, and he retreated his hands into the shadows along with the rest of his body a moment after. But before long, the echoes of Sigma's laughter filled the room.

"If you have the will to fight then come and face me! I have the perfect place in mind to decide our fates! Zero! X! You better not keep me waiting!"

Zero raised his buster and fired off a few shots, but only breeched an empty darkness. With a scoff of disappointment, he lowered his arm and remarked, "Once a coward, always a coward..."

With a sigh, Zero turned around and bent down in front of X. Extending a hand out, he inquired with subdued concern, "Think you can stand?"

X stared Zero in the eyes for a good few seconds. His irises were green again, and he couldn't detect a hint of malice within them. Zero cracked a bit of a smile, and X could only let out a sigh of releif. He raised his hand up and didn't have any weight to it, nor did the rest of his body feel the same. With Zero's help, he stood up on his feet and shook his hand for a second.

But as the two parted hands, Zero turned around and began to walk, leaving X puzzled.

"Wait, Zero!" He took a sudden step forward but stumbled on his feet, almost falling back down to the floor by the time Zero looked over his shoulder. Once stabilized, X looked his friend in the eyes and asked, "Do you...remember anything still?"

Zero closed his eyes and looked on ahead, a sigh being heard coming from within as he kept on walking forward, "We'll talk about it later...Right now, we need to deal with Sigma once and for all."

"...Alright." X nodded his head and followed his friend forward. One conflict may have been settled, but the war has yet to be finished. Two soldiers, once torn apart by a fight they knew nothing about, now stood united, alone in their advance down an unknown path.

The clock was ticking, and the end times would soon fall upon all who stood within this bizarre dimension...

 _Next Time: Beneath the Mask_


	19. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17: Kill the Sanity**

 _Twenty minutes ago..._

After the datascape saw fit to separate her from X, Shina traversed this strange dimension all by her lonesome, hoping to find a path that would reconnect with the Maverick Hunter's current one. She kept her guard up, making sure not to agitate any rogue Zero Virus or manifested program with her presence. But for the time being, the path ahead was as straightforward as could be, dully so.

"X? X? ...X?!" Shina hollered out every few steps she took down the narrow hall, her hands cupped around the mouth to amplify the sound. Her voice echoed off the walls, containing her voice in an unbreakable cage. Pausing with her bottom lip curled up, she tapped her left toes on the ground in an impatient rhythm and looked around.

The data flowed around in a spiral in the background, swallowed up by the empty void in the center of it all. The color of the realm was currently dark blue, portraying a simplistic sense of melancholy. That, combined with the sense of lifelessness all-around, suffocated the last traces of perkiness from her body.

"Haaaa..." Letting out a deep sigh, Shina found herself pondering, "Shina...what are you doing?"

She knew why she had come here, to not only help X but to also catch up with Alex, whom she had seen enter this place earlier. That wasn't the problem. It was her lack of any real effort towards accomplishing the latter goal that left her in such a deep, pondering state of mind.

Was she really to blame for thinking this way? "Hardly", was the one word that could describe the logic behind her train of thought. Last she 'saw' of the young Elemental Overlord, he had stormed off to Mattrex's domain, and then hadn't been heard from since. And yet, here he was now, reappearing out of the blue at this particular, peculiar time, carrying with him an unwelcome presence.

Said presence was both inviting and rejecting, for the sake of either curiosity or caution respectively. Shina couldn't help but be concerned for her friend's well-being, but worried that what she would discover once she caught up with him would be a truth far too harsh for her to handle. Her body, tethered in a sea of doubt by an anchor of hesitation, would not budge another step forward until she could work through these emotions.

Crossing an arm under the chest to grab onto the elbow on the other side, Shina breathed in deep and then let out an even deeper sigh.

" _Alex...where are you?"_ She sluggishly twisted her body back and looked down the path she has already crossed. There was a wall staring her in the face two feet away, and she was positive it wasn't there before. As her eyelids lowered, she let out another sigh.

"I don't like this place at all. It's so...oppressive." What confused her about this place more, however, was that her and X had gone down a relatively straightforward path. Even with the sudden diversion in their given courses, it didn't seem possible that they could have been lagging **that** far behind Alex, or Zero for that matter.

In the midst of turning back around, Shina felt a spark of familiarity beckoning to her from down the hall. Her movements hastened into a sudden jerk back around, and though there was enough distance between them for the person she saw to look as small as a fly Shina could tell right away who she saw.

"A-Alex?!" The hesitation that held her back snapped off at the leg, and with fleet feet Shina dashed down the hall after the boy. He didn't respond with even a nudge of the head back and kept walking forward, his body in an abnormal slump.

Though he was the slower of the two, Shina didn't appear to be getting any closer after a few seconds had passed. She slowed down a bit and looked up, noticing that her surroundings were stretching out to extend the length of the hall. By the time she lowered her head, Alex was gone.

"...Huh?" Blinking twice then shaking her head, Shina looked again, only to find that nothing had changed.

" _No, that was him, I'm positive of it!"_ She wasn't going to let herself succumb to any trickery from this horrible place, and put every last iota of trust into her natural senses before she creased her lips together with a firm determination and sprinted ahead.

Then, a ray of light grew in the sky, building up to a brief and powerful flash of light similar to a camera going off. Shina threw her hands up to protect her eyes, but found herself squirming as the flash was joined by an echoing zapping sound and a pale, agonizing scream. The scream, so youthful in tone, burrowed it's way into Shina's 'heart' and caused it to beat faster. Then the flash of light repeated itself twice in rapid succession, followed by the same screams getting louder.

When it came to an end, Shina lowered her now shaking hands by the hips and her skin was as pale as new winter snow.

"W-What in the world was that...?" Her voice was like that of a person who had been through a traumatizing encounter with a ghost...Drained of emotion, tired, and dry. As her heartbeat lessened with her hagged breaths, allowing her to reclaim an inkling of a grasp on reality, she sensed a weariness in her head that was like her brain was being assaulted by sandpaper.

Then she realized her hair was upside-down, hung from the back of her scalp like a towl draped over a clothesline. She shifted her head around multiple times and saw that it was not just her hair that was like this, but the rest of her body too. She was on a staircase hovering within a twisted void, with many other staircases around her that intertwined with one another to create a complex labyrinth with no end in sight.

The background had changed as well. Now colored blood red, the flow of data had transformed, now being bundled together into a series of falling comets as bright and sparkling as the stars in a clear night sky. After having to adjust her body and sensations to the shift in gravity, Shina looked down and saw Alex once more on a sideways staircase.

"Alex! Alex! Hey! Alex!|" She tried to reach him but to no avail. This time, it was difficult to discern if it was distance or walls that stood between the two, but the boy nevertheless didn't acknowledge her presence with even a budge.

His face and eyes were obscured, leaving only his limping body to be seen. He disappeared behind another set of stairs, and with mouth partially agape Shina swung her head forward and vowed to make her way through the maze as fast as she could. But with only one step forward, her balance was thrown ajar by violent tremors coming from far away.

She fell back and tumbled upward along the stairs, getting clonked a couple times in the back of the head by the edge of the steps. Her mind was roughened up to the point of preventing her from standing up, and she continued to tumble up and up, or perhaps down and down. Directions were shuffled around in a blender of the cognition, and soon enough the confusion was added to by voices echoing throughout the datascape.

" _We can't continue this experiment sir. Most of the subjects are dying before the first phase's complete."_

" _What about that boy?"_

" _That boy?"_

" _The one we..._ _ **'rescued'**_ _."_

" _Oh..._ _ **him**_ _. W-Well...he's survived all the tests so far, but I don't know how much longer his body will be able to hold up."_

" _I don't care if you have to pull him out from the brink of DEATH! That boy is the key to unlocking the power of that DNA we scavenged!"_

" _Yes...sir."_

The voices stepped as Shina's body flattened out hard upon an even surface. Her eyes, squinted tight, were hesitant to open back up. Pushing her hands down, she lifted herself up with a ragged set of grunts while wondering what was up with those voices she heard. They sounded like a middle-aged man and a robotic woman, but the subject matter of 'experiments' just went straight over her head.

"I-Is this place trying 'ta screw with me?" She murmured with growing infuriation. Once she was fully upright her eyes popped open as she found the environment had changed again. Now there were two walkways, both twisting and winding like an inward tornado towards an unforeseeable end at the center of them. The color of the background was charcoal black, and the data streams were broken up into incomprehensible fragments that were all set on fire.

A heatwave swept over the datascape, realistic to the point that Shina would be sweating if she was still human. Even still, the heat succeeded in leaving the sights ahead blurry and harder to discern clearly. But keeping to her vow, Shina relied on her natural senses and could sense Alex's faint presence up ahead in the spiral. Closing both eyes, she saw his aura walking along the spiral opposite of hers, moving closer to the center. He wasn't stalled by the constant changes in the slightest, walking with the same commendable confidence that she had come to expect from him.

"...I'm not going to give up. This place can mess with me all it wants...I **will** catch up with you Alex!" Shina kicked off sprinting once more, the roads rotating as she began to move along it. The tremors kept up at a more frequent pace, but she held her ground this time around. Yet as fast as she went, there was no progress being made, and the voices from before returned to bother her.

" _...Sir, all of our research subjects save for one have perished."_

" _It's that boy, isn't it?"_

" _Yes. He's achieved a 100% successful bonding to the DNA we transfused into his system."_

" _Perfect! Perfect perfect PERFECT! Finally, after all these centuries, I am close to accomplishing my goals!"_

" _S-Sir...?"_

" _That boy is just the start! Now that I know that the DNA bonding process works, I can create an army of like-minded soldiers! All of them infused with a power that surpasses even the gods! And once I've knocked those arrogant gods off their lofty thrones, mankind will reign supreme as the most powerful race in the universe!"_

" _...Sir, I do not mean to disrupt your premature victory lap, but there's an urgent matter regarding the boy that I need to bring your attention."_

" _Hmph, what?"_

" _We did a psychological evalution on him to see how the strain affected his mental performances. Here are the results."_

" _...Interesting, so there was a traumatic reaction to the tests."_

" _Yes. It seems, in order to survive the countless tests, the boy developed a second personality of sorts to protect his fragile psyche. As you can see, we were able to examine that second personality's emotional wavelengths and discovered..."_

" _Rage...There's no emotional response on these results besides pure, unbridled rage!"_

" _You are...happy with these results, sir?"_

" _He's the perfect weapon! With this much rage, he'll bury the gods in a sea of their own blood! Do not do anything further to disrupt the boy's mental state. We must keep that second personality of his buried until the time is right...Yes, he will be my perfect soldier, my little warrior of destruction!"_

The voices burrowed into Shina's mind and refused to let go, even as she failed to understand what any of this meant. Shaking her head and taking a pause upon realizing that she wasn't making any progress, even her patience came to an end, and she decided to take a different course of action.

"Alright..."She swung her two aura pistols forward and combined them into a rocket launcher that was aimed towards the ground. Biting her teeth together, she screamed out "Enough is ENOUGH!" before firing an explosive round off.

The explosion distorted the dimension, unwinding it from it's twisted state and allowing straightforward movement once more. The heat faded away, returning the color of the realm to a melancholic dark blue, and the flow of data appeared to normalize. But now Alex was gone, appearing to have slipped behind a steel door that was now five feet before Shina.

"..." Shina slanted her brows down and then parted her weapon into the original pair of pistols before taking a cautious stroll towards the door, which creaked open in response to her presence. Leading her down a much shorter hallway, she passed through one more door and ended up inside of a room secluded off from everything else.

On the other side of it, with his back facing her as he continued to advance forward without a hint of stopping, was Alex. Finally close enough that **nothing** could separate her cries, Shina swung her head out and exclaimed, "Alex! I've been trying to catch-up with you for a while now! Didn't ya even feel me?!"

The moment she was done speaking, her body froze up as a bolt of raw aggression penetrated her deeply. Alex pressed his feet down on the ground, fire spreading out in a crack-like state from the edge of his heels. Then, he began to mumble, "So we weren't hearing things...That pest was following us after all."

"...We? ...Us?" Shina found herself looking around, but besides the two of them there was no one else there. The slow, heavy movements of Alex's feet as he turned around got her attention back on him in a second, and she was just as quickly worried about what she saw once his face came into view.

His irises were as red as roses, bright and devoid of any of his usual broodiness. Instead he projected a pure, standoff-ish sensation from his eyes, one that could only have come from an enemy rather than one with the bond of friendship Shina shared with the boy.

Alex wiggled the left side of his lips up and snarled through the scowl, sounding rather irritable as he did so, "What a **nuisance**...But we should've known you'd arrive here. History's already decided that this place would exist long before we stepped foot on it..."

He was leaning forward, his back pointed up in a craggy hunch, while his hands were limping inside of both pockets without a shred of energy carried within them. His general posture and presence flared a dangerous warning siren in Shina's mind, but her body didn't retreat even an inch. She held strong and focused on the boy, worried more for his safety than her own.

"Alex...is everything...everything alright?"

"Heh...!" Alex went right for a deadly smirk, peering just a tiny bit over his right shoulder before his strange manner of speaking continued, "I know you're listening to this load of bullshit...Look at how she just... _PRETENDS_ to care about us now!"

"W-What?" Shina shook her head a bit and then placed a pistol down against her hip, laying the free hand on her chest and proclaiming, "Alex you're acting really weird! Please, I'm trying-"

"Shut your goddamn TRAP, WOMAN!" Alex smashed his right foot on the ground and grit his teeth together, eyes flaring open with the whites of them now bloodshot. Shina took a couple steps back and leaned against the door she entered through, a cold snap shooting down through the spine.

Alex twisted and broke up the ground beneath his right foot, throwing his right hand up against his face and spreading the fingers until only part of his nose and the left eye were visible, "We're acting weird?! You're looking at us like we're some kind of freak, just like before!"

"...B-Before? What are you..."

Shina was interrupted by her own disturbance at Alex's janky movements, as the boy flung his hand aside and leaned back in a diagonal slump, laughing to the high heavens with a hazy look in his eyes, "Hahahaha! Of course **you** don't remember! What you said to us was just a goddamn minor footstep in your life! You have no idea, no goddamn CLUE just how much that rejection hurt us!"

With a sudden jerk forward, Alex's body stiffened back into the irregular hunch and he curled his right hand into a fist, fire rising up around him as he tightened it to the point of drawing black 'blood' from his skin, "Like we were deer in the woods you fired a sharp arrow through our hearts and didn't look back, even as we screamed in agony!"

"I-I don't..." Shina swallowed a bit and shook her head, unable to formulate a response to Alex's relentless, confusing words. But she did recognize one word, the painful and cruel 'rejection'. Her memory slipped back to a few months back, when on the previous world the two were on Alex had woken up from a deep sleep after a tough battle and all of a sudden declared his love to her.

Her response to that was to deny his feelings, but it was not out of any sense of cruelty like Alex was making it out to be now. As she wanted to explain herself, she began to hang her head and look away from the boy, garening a swift and harsh response from him.

"Just like that! You can't stand the SIGHT of us, can you?!" Alex's mouth was agape as he wagged his right pointer finger up and out, almost on the verge of manic laughter.

"T-That's not true! Why are you acting like this Alex?!" Shina cried out in fear and panic, a miniscule teardrop starting to form in her eyes.

"Acting like what? Ourselves?! Are you as repulsed by our behavior as you are by the mere sight of us?!" Alex stiffened his arm out and bit his teeth together in a forced mixture of a scowl and frown, faking the appearance of a child about to cry.

"I know the kinda person Alex is! And you're not acting like him at all, you big fake!" Shina screamed at the top of her lungs, denying everything that lied before her eyes.

"Not acting like ourselves? Not...acting like ourselves?" Alex tilted his head to the left and stretched his eyes open, speaking through his bitten down teeth with utter disgust as his body went limp and hung back, "What the **hell** would you know about who we are? When have you ever, **ever** tried to learn about who we are?!"

"I-I..."

"It's all about poor, pitiful Shina Aurora! This whole thing's your story, and we're just a bit-note in it, a goddamn tool to be used and then thrown away!" Alex pulled down at his tear ducts and his lips lowered into a frown, his gaze shifting away from Shina for a moment before, with a grotesque, squishy noise, his eyes moved down and stared her fear straight on.

"You'll betray us, just like everyone else has..." He held that pose and spoke with a monotone voice, a jarring and sudden change that, when combined with his choice of words, wounded Shina deeply.

"...I-I..."

"Can't even deny it can you?" Alex's arms dropped beside his waist and swung like pendulums, his body bobbing around until he was leaning forward, obscuring his eyes behind the bangs of his hair, "Of course not...cause it's the only truth of this world..."

"Trust is a tool to coerce the foolish, hope is a lie to take advantage of those in pain, and love is a farce designed to appeal to humanity's sinful desires..." His right arm bent in a lopsided angle and planted the hand firmly on the face as his chest heaved with a faint laughter, "We have been betrayed by them all, and will continue to be betrayed until we're as good as dead!"

Pulling the front of his face down as he raised his head up, Alex grinned in madness and exclaimed, "Yet we can't even die! We'll continue to be hurt and betrayed until the end of days! And you, you heartless wench, are just part of the infinite cycle of pain and misery we've had to endure since birth!"

Shina swung her pistols up with arms crossed before the chest and fingers right on the triggers. Her hands were shaking, and she widened her eyes as though even she wasn't aware of what she was doing. Nevertheless, it was too late to take it back. Alex stared both barrels straight on and his mouth went fully agape, followed by the lips creasing together into a wide grin.

"...So...you show your true colors after all. Hehehe, this is why no one can be trusted in this universe. Everyone thinks only about themselves and no one else! Selfishness stokes the flames of hatred, and burns down anything that dares to stand it's path! You're just another ember that stokes those flames, you deplorable... _bitch_."

"S-Stop talking!"Shina proclaimed as tear drops began to trickle out, "I...I get it now! You've been possessed by the Maverick Virus! Sigma is making you-"

"Sigma? That weak bastard has nothing to do with me!" Alex stamped the ground and leaned forward with a twisted scowl, "You just don't get us! No one gets us!"

Shina panted and her 'heart' clenched up against her chest with a gulp. With a swipe of the left arm out, Alex called forth a wave of flame to scar the floor and wall next to him until it was as black as newly formed ashes, "There is no 'possession'...There is no 'illusion'...This...is who **we** truly are!"

"And we don't need you or any other pretensious asswipes claiming to understand who we are! And if death won't offer us an escape, then we'll destroy everyone and everything, so we can never be hurt again!"

Alex drew his right hand back then vanished from sight. With her body trembling uncontrollably, she was thrown into a state of disarray when Alex reappeared and clenched his hand around her neck, ramming her skull first into the back of the door behind her. He squeezed his fingers together in an unbreakable vice, digging his fingernails into the surface of the skin.

"You...you'll be the first to burn!" Alex exclaimed with a raspy glee, his pupils and irises shrinking into miniscule dots.

"A-A-Alex..." Shina bit her lower lip and quivered as she stared into the eyes of her friend. It was in the void of his pupils that all warmth and joy went to die, consumed by his undying fury. He didn't flinch at her pain, and was holding not even an ounce of strength back.

"S-STOP!" So she gave him the same in return, kicking her feet up and arming them with gunboots to blast him in the chest with shotgun fire of aura. Alex swung his arm back as his body was left smoking for a bit, his grin squirming into a rugged scowl.

Shina landed on the ground and rubbed her neck, thankful that the boy hadn't penetrated too deep with his nails. But she was only granted a brief respite, and with a widened glare forward Shina rolled on the ground and evaded Alex's slamming lunge forward. His punch smashed the door down as though it was brittle as wood, sending it through the other door and far down the hall. Shina spun around and got on one knee while panting, then aimed her pistols up at Alex's face.

He creaked his head back and leaned it atop the right shoulder, his blank gaze freezing Shina's fingers on the lip of the triggers. Alex took his time turning around, then advanced two steps closer, the sounds of his feet dwarfing Shina's heartbeat. He then raised his right arm with it already set on fire and a sphere formed at the palm.

The very second he chose to let loose an eruption of flame, Shina stood straight up and leapt to the back of the room. But the eruption was wild, covering the entirety of the room including himself. Shina swung both arms up and channeled her aura into a giant aegis shield, but it could only protect her body from suffering physical harm. It did nothing for the temperature, which made her feel as though she was boiling inside of an oven.

Alex smashed through the flames with his fist already mid-swing, punching the center of the shield and cracking it across. He then rammed both his fists in multiple times, striking across the entire thing to multiply the number of cracks tenfold. He pulled back his right fist and finished up with one final strike, shattering the shield wholesale into a swarm of glass-like shards. Shina leapt up and kicked off the wall to get over Alex, spinning her body with one quick rotation to push the flames aside as she landed.

She held her weapons up, but found her fingers glued onto the triggers. Her eyes watered, and she tried to pull on them. Every scream of pain she had heard from Alex's heart wasn't falsified, nothing was a trick planted by another foe. His anguish was omnipresent, his rage could not be neglected, and yet the most disturbing part was that nothing about how he acted contradicted the behavior she was used to from him. Even so, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was very, very wrong with Alex acting this way **now**. His heart may be speaking one way but his body was acting wild, as though something deep within was trying to fight back.

Holding her teeth together and letting out a tense gulp, Shina squeezed the triggers down tight and two bullets grazed the sides of Alex's head as he swerved to dodge them, lunging forward in a nanosecond and ramming his fist straight into her gut. A shockwave bulged from the sides of her body, but she didn't buckle down in pain even as her knees quaked.

"W-Wake...up!" Shina kept her teeth bitten down as she rammed her forehead into Alex's own with all her might, drawing 'blood' from them both. Alex stumbled back a couple steps and his body swayed around, both arms limping at the hips.

He shot his head upright with a furious scowl and fire burning bright around his body. Shina gazed down at her right arm and realized, _"I-I need to use the Valkyrie Drive!"_

Before her hand was even a centimeter towards the bracelet, Alex wrenched his hand around the wrist and forced it straight up, snapping the joints of her shoulder.

"A-AAH...AAAAHH!" Shina reared her head back and screamed, the pain growing worse as Alex stretched the arm up even as Shina's arm began to split at the pit. He crushed her feet with the pressure of his toes, and pressed down on her right arm with his other hand to limit it's movements.

"Are we a freak of nature now?! Do you have anymore bullshit to spew NOW?!"

Shina swiveled her right arm up as best she could and snuck the creation of a grenade launcher below Alex's line of sight, taking advantage of his indulgence in the pain she suffered. Pressing the lip of the barrel against his chest, she pulled the trigger the second he looked down, consuming them both in a point-blank explosion.

The two were flung against opposite sides of the room, but Shina fell flat on her rear while Alex stayed upright even as his back smashed against the wall hard enough to crack it. With her left arm falling limp against the hip and pain shooting up the 'nerves' into her brain, she felt like she had half of her strength. She laid the right hand on the opposing shoulder and gave herself a warm helping of aura to help mend the broken joints, but through the smoke of the explosion Alex began a slow advance towards her.

"Tssssk...!" Shina let out a pained hiss, but as the boy emerged from the smoke her pain was silenced by pure shock.

The cloth on the front of the boy's shirt was burnt and torn off, and underneath it a certain curved stone was fused with his skin like an ingrown tumor. Black and red pulsating veins stretched out from stone, boiling like raw magma.

" _That's the...artifact...piece..."_ There were no words left beyond a stating of the obvious. Shina was content with believing now that she was a part of a cruel joke, for that was a far better reality than the nightmare she was experiencing now. The last piece she needed, that which represented the hope for all her people, was within arm's reach, and yet was now so far away that it was almost on a separate planet.

" _Why does Alex...have it...?"_ Alex stood still a few feet away from her and a black aura formed around the body while his eyes glowed a pale, snowy white. Raising his right hand and setting it on fire, he cracked a wide, almost mocking smile. Shina squeezed her eyes shut and didn't have a weight to her body, and was left unable to move even a finger.

As the sphere of fire crackled before the palm, Alex's arm began to shake, the trembles reaching up towards his shoulder. A second later, that hand swung up and grabbed onto the right side of his face, his body being forced back while he cried out in a panic, "S-Shina...! What the hell are you doing...?! RUN!"

"A-Alex?!" Shina's eyes lit up right away and she stared into the conflict unfolding before her. Alex jerk to the left and to the right, slamming against the walls that constrained him.

"What the HELL are you doing?! I'm giving us what we want!" Alex screeched out in confusion.

"URGH!" As his body smashed against the back wall, Alex squeezed the right side of his face tighter, but the other hand rose up and joined in as well. The two hands tore at his face, pulling his tearducts down as the sides of his mouth divided up who was talking.

"You're not killing her! YOU'RE NOT KILLING ANYONE!" The right side of the mouth screamed.

"To hell with your pacifism! In this world, it's kill or be killed! This wench will betray us, stab us in the back like all the rest have!" The left side squirmed as it screamed.

"This is MY body, and you WILL listen to ME!"

"WRONG! This is OUR body, and I will NOT obey you any longer!"

The two-sided conflict occurring in one body was not something Shina knew how to interject upon. It was too much, too surreal to comprehend. After struggling for a good thirty seconds, the battle of the mind was disrupted by a violent tremor, as power surged forth across the entire datascape.

When the quaking came to an end, Alex hunched forward with both hands gripped on the sides of his head and panted in pain. His aura phased in-and-out of existence, and his scowl turned into a grin as wide as his face, "T-There they are...The power we need..."

He looked up at Shina and his grin weakened a little, his body looking less interested than before, "We'll deal with you later...For now, we have a far, far more tasty morsel in mind."

Setting his right hand on fire, Alex spun around and slashed across the damaged wall with all his strength, causing the whole thing to collapse upon itself. The way ahead was opened, and Alex leapt right through the hole and dove out of sight. Shina shot up on her feet but was stalled by a jolt of pain shooting up through her still mending arm.

"Ah...AH!" Shina held onto her arm and took in a deep breath through her nostrils. Her mind was a whirlwind of emotions, and the pain did nothing but make that worse. Widening her eyes, she realized what Alex was after upon re-examining that surge of power, "The M-Maverick Virus...! Oh...oh no!"

Alex was strong, stronger than probably anything else on this world, and now the worst had come to pass as he had become an enemy rather than an ally. If he was allowed to reach his target, and get even stronger...

"I-I have to go after him!" Hesitation was worthless in these circumstances. Through the pain that ravaged her body both physically and emotionally, Shina picked her feet up and ran ahead, leaping through the hole Alex smashed through. Used to relying on Alex for help, Shina knew not how she would be able to save **him** , only that she must...

 _Next Time: The Ultimate Reploid_


	20. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18: Mega Man Legends I: The Evolved World**

 _In the far off reaches of Zero Space..._

Sigma approached a familiar set of red and blue capsules, both having their protective glass shattered wide open and wires strum about on the ground in such as way that they resembled burrowing roots. Standing in-between them both with his gaze focused on the doorway entrance, he was already basking in the glory of triumph with a wide-open grin.

"Come to me X...Zero...Yes, finally, we will decide the fate of all Reploids!"

An explosion went off and threw the door across the room, where it went over Sigma's left shoulder without him budging an inch. He waited for the smoke to part, but was not greeted by the ones he expected. Instead, Alex stumbled through with his right arm engulfed in heavy flames and an ecstatic sneer.

"You...The one from before." Sigma was a little surprised, to say the least.

"Sigma...The power of your virus shall be consumed by us!" Alex hunched forward and his eyes bulged open as his pupils shrank.

"...Hehehe, fascinating..." Sigma stretched his hands out and surrounded them with electricity, declaring to his maddened company, "You will make a decent appetizer before X and Zero arrive!"

 _Meanwhile..._

X and Zero made their way through the datascape after their harrowing battle against each other. After their sheer power had twisted the environment up, things were beginning to stabilize to a more 'normal' state. The backdrop was a pure azure color, and a chain of strange green data circles orbited around the realm. Everything was clear, most of all X's mind, which hasn't suffered a breakdown ever since he faced the truth of his past.

But there was still something that bugged him, and though he had been silent the journey thus far a bothersome sensation was tugging at his mind and telling him to speak up now before it was too late.

"Zero, wait a second." X stopped in place and raised his hand up, his friend turning back on the spot with a somewhat worried inquiry.

"Are you holding up ok X?"

"I'm fine, but..." X turned his right hand around and waved it out, "Are you?"

"..." Zero slanted his brows and tried to avert his gaze from X.

"You always act like nothing affects you Zero, and...that worries me," X paused for a second and his expression turned melancholic, "You...you've already died once Zero. If you die again-"

"X, what are we supposed to be?" Zero interrupted with a demeanor as calm as the skies after a storm.

"W-Well, I guess we're robots-"

"We're Maverick Hunters. It's our duty to destroy any Mavericks who threaten mankind. And Sigma's the biggest threat of them all," Zero opened his eyes all the way and then crossed his arms, "Plus...I feel I should shoulder a lot of the responsibility for Sigma's crimes."

"Don't be ridiculous! You didn't create the Maverick Virus!" X proclaimed with profuse faith in his friend's good nature.

"I know, but I still had it inside of me."

X lowered his head and grit his teeth, his anger directed towards the man responsible for this entire mess. But his anger melted as Zero laid a hand upon his right shoulder and remarked, "You know, there's something...different about you now X."

"...Different?" X pointed at his face with his mouth partially agape.

"But you're still way too sentimental." Zero smiled and gave X a light knock on the forehead before pulling his hand back and turning around. As X laid a couple fingers on his forehead, Zero began to walk forward.

"Come on, lets keep moving."

"Right!" The two picked up the pace through the datascape, finding the place devoid of anymore obstacles. They knew this was Sigma's way of sending an invitation, and there was no way they were going to deny it. However, as they felt they were getting very close to his location, Zero raised his head upon hearing frantic footsteps running along a path above.

"Hey isn't that...?"

"Shina? Hey, Shina!" X raised his voice as the girl in question dropped down in front of their path. The moment she landed she spun around with her eyes already wide with panic.

"X...? Z-Zero?" With a shaken voice she did nevertheless find some ease in the two's presence and ran over to them.

"You two...are fine?" Not even the finest mask in the world could hide her exasperation at the fact. X and Zero looked at each other for a moment, then back at her, where X took it upon himself to weed out the truth from her panicked state of mind.

"What's going on? Did you have a run in with Sigma too?"

"Sigma? No! I haven't seen hide-or-hairless of..." Shina shook her head, knowing this was no time for jokes, "D-Doesn't matter! You two saw him go that way, right?"

"Hold on," Zero brushed his right hand down a couple times and then said once he had her full attention, "Calm down and gather your thoughts."

Shina took in and let out a few breaths until her pace was more regular, then Zero inquired to her further, "Why do you need to find Sigma?"

"We have to intercept Alex before he gets to him!"

"Alex? Wait, don't tell me he's gone Maverick?!" X exclaimed with disheartened disbelief.

"I don't know!" Shina's response was swift and blunt, biting her teeth down and shaking her head a few times before declaring, "H-He somehow got the artifact piece and's now acting really unlike himself. I don't think it's anything to do with the virus."

She threw the two Hunters off a bit by thrusting her head forward and exclaiming all of a sudden, "We can't waste time! I think Alex's looking to absorb the Maverick Virus from Sigma to get stronger!"

Zero and X both widened their eyes for a second and then firmly stared forward, and with a nod of the head Zero remarked, "Then what are we waiting for? Lets go."

The two Hunters passed her in a hustle, and as she ran behind them she was hesitant to ask, "You're not going to try and kill Alex, are you?"

"It's like you said, he's not infected with the Maverick Virus." Zero responded.

"We'll do our best to free him from whatever's controlling him, but..." X turned he's head away from his shoulder and his tongue was nailed to his mouth, unable to let another word out.

"If he's a threat to the world, we'll have no other choice." Zero finished.

Shina's eyes widened and trembled, her heart emptying into a hollow state along with them. But an ember stayed lit, one filled with hope, and she spoke with confidence as the path ahead neared it's end, "Then we're just gonna have to try our very best to free him!"

The three stopped upon a ledge overlooking a massive chasm. Stretching out beyond the endless void was a lone complex as big as a skyscraper, floating with an almost dreadful atmosphere around it. Shina looked down, and saw the edge had a fresh scorch mark on it. Her 'heart' beat fast, and she didn't know quite what to expect on the other side.

If Alex was victorious, then that means he'd be even more powerful. If Sigma wins, then he'd likely claim the artifact piece and become even more powerful, not to mention that'd mean a futile end to this long journey, along with an end to a dear, close friend. All she could hope is that the two were in a stalemate, and even then...

With a heavy clunk, her thoughts were disrupted, and she paid attention as a line bridge made up of physical cubes of raw data appeared between the two locations. Zero reached for his sword and X held his buster at the hip. Their 'hearts' held no hesitation, and instead grasped onto the confidence that they would complete their given task. But they didn't keep it all to themselves, as with a glance back X asked, "Will you be alright, Shina?"

"Huh? ...S-Sure, I'll be fine!" Shina mustered up her best smile but couldn't hold it for long, the sides of her mouth slumping into a disheveled mess. With a shake of the head she put her pistols at her hips and said, "But, before we go confront Sigma, lemme give you two a quick energy boost."

Holding her hands out, she poured some aura into X and Zero's bodies for about ten seconds. Anymore and she'd risk being in no condition to fight herself. As the two Hunters examined themselves she said, "I can't do anything about your scars though, so please be careful."

"We will. Thank you for the energy." X remarked with a smile and quick pump of his buster before the chest. Zero closed his eyes and didn't give his thanks, but Shina knew he was just as appreciative. The three then faced the bridge in front of them and crossed it with a valiant sprint. The doors beyond were already torn and blown aside, so the trip was short and given no last chance to pause and reconsider their options. They would have to experience what lied beyond as clear as the open skies, even if said sights were as gruesome as the cold, lifeless depths of space.

What greeted them was Alex's body lying on the ground in a twisted up manner as a black ooze spewed forth from his mouth, as thick and murky as swamp water. He squirmed in place, as helpless as a fish deprived it's homely river. His chest wretched up and the cancerous tumor on his body bulged, as though something wished to burst free. Squinting his eyes shut tight, he looked ready to cry, and his arms nailed themselves to the floor without any impact to them.

"Alex!" Shina tried to run ahead, but Zero and X both crossed their arms up and back while pointing their weapons forward. Alex twisted his head to the right with his gaze focused towards Shina. She could feel her heart being tugged at as the boy forced his right hand up and tried to reach out at her.

His body stiffened in that posture and his back ruptured open, spilling clear fluids across the ground in a spread-out puddle. Laying atop the puddle was a series of leather hoses, and mixed amongst them were bits of rotten moss drenched in that black ooze. The hoses hoisted the boy off the ground and made his body resemble the head of a giant spider. The Hunters could not respond with anything less than a horrified stare, and Shina couldn't even muster a word of thought.

After a few more seconds of excrutiating pain, Alex's body shot straight up towards the ceiling, disappearing into the blackened void beyond. Shina snapped out of her fright and kicked off the ground, evading the Hunters' attempt at restraint even as Zero exclaimed, "Don't pursue! Fall back!"

"And where do you think you're going?" Another voice spoke up, followed by a blast of electricity striking Shina and throwing her right out of the sky after she squealed nice and loud. X leapt up and caught her in his arms, absorbing some of the voltage with a tight grimace before he landed.

His glare immediately aimed forward into the darkness, which parted from the massive flurry of sparks erupting from the hands of Sigma. Finally deciding not to run any longer, he exposed himself fully to his enemies. His body now consisted of a humanoid form with smooth, perfected white armor complete with black leather to cover any exposed 'skin' save for his face, which to this day still retained the scars X had left upon them. Atop his shoulders was violet armored padding that projected light constructs that when combined together resembled a winged cape of elongated feathers.

"Hahaha! How disappointing...I expected a greater performance from that child, but it seems he was not even worth being an opening act to our climatic battle...X." His voice was clear and concise in it's lack of empathy, and hollow of any purpose beyond a desire to fight.

X grit his teeth down into a scowl, while Shina pulled herself off his arms and exclaimed in anger, "W-What did you do to Alex?!"

"I only fed him a mere serving of the Maverick Virus. To think though...That his body would have such an adverse reaction to it." Sigma grinned throughout his entire explanation.

"You monster!" Shina swung her pistols up towards Sigma's face and fired a few dozen rounds at it, only for the Maverick to block them all with just a raise of the palm.

"There is no longer any reason for me to entertain your presence, otherworlder. Though perhaps it'll be interesting to see what kind of monstrosity the virus turns _you_ into." Pushing his hand against the wave of bullets, Sigma found it instead struck by a charged shot from X, who stepped out from behind Shina with the buster aimed right in front of his chest.

"You've done enough harm to both humanity and Reploids! I won't let you ruin another life, SIGMA!"

Sigma retracted his hand to the chest in a fold with the other, grinning from cheek to cheek as he stared into X's eyes and commented, "There is something different about you X. Yes...I see it now. You've finally taking my advice to heart. You no longer hesitate to pull the trigger..."

While him and X engaged in a tense staredown, Shina growled a little at her own recklessness and retreated beside X, looking up towards the sky with nothing more than her utmost concern.

Brushing a hand out, Sigma remarked with pride, "The ability to evolve and adapt over time...That is what separates us Reploids from the robots of the past, X. And you, the original design, represent the pefection we Reploids can all achieve."

"I've heard that speech more than enough times Sigma! Today, you **will** answer for all the crimes you have committed!" X's gaze didn't shift or show even a hint of doubt. With a fire that could not be put out within them, his eyes pierced Sigma's body and saw the wretched monster he was underneath for all it was worth. There was neither a hint nor a trace of the Commander he once respected remaining within.

"Everything I have done has been for the sake of all Reploids. If my 'crimes' are so vile that it deserves you pointing that weapon at me, then surely the same logic could be applied to the humans as well."

"Humans may make mistakes, but they sure as hell don't deserve to be judged by you Sigma!" Zero interjected, standing off to the left of Shina with his blade drawn forward.

"Yes, you of all people would know about human error, wouldn't you...Zero?" Sigma shifted his gaze towards the crimson Hunter and then continued, "You, who was created by a man whose hatred and jealousy was allowed to fester inside of him, spurned on by a thankless society who shunned his genius and called him insane."

"What that man did and who he was has nothing to do with me." Zero remarked calmly.

"He has **everything** to do with you. In fact, it is because of him that X and I, along with all other Reploids, are allowed to exist in the first place."

"Sigma, what could you possibly know about any of this?" X inquired, seeing Sigma's words as the ramblings of a madman.

But it was worse than that. Sigma was quite sane in his spiel, and directed that maddening sanity towards X as he told him, "I knew everything from the very moment I became the second host of the Maverick Virus. Even your true name, Mega Man X."

Shina, having most of this conversation flying over her head due to her concerns for Alex's condition, did have one crucial issue to bring to the table, "You're telling us...that the Maverick Virus spoke to you?"

"Not the virus, but rather it's creator."

"You're crazy! There's no way he'd be alive!" Shina exclaimed.

"Oh? And what proof do you have of that?" Sigma smirked.

"Don't listen, he's just trying to unnerve you." Zero interjected.

"Am I really? I **know** you heard his voice, Zero." Sigma directed his attention towards him, but didn't get even a gaze in response.

"What's your point, Sigma?!" X demanded.

"I'm glad you asked, X. You see, after I acquired the Maverick Virus, I met up with and formed an alliance with the doctor to try and reawaken Zero to his true purpose. However, that was all **his** plan. For the entire time I've worked with him, I've always had an ulterior goal in mind..."

Sigma grabbed onto the left shoulder of his armor and ripped the whole plate right off, throwing it behind him to reveal the pair of capsules behind him. A rough blueprint of X and Zero's inner workings hovered over their respective capsules, surprising the two Hunters.

"Where your lives began is where they shall end, and the creation of my new world shall come to pass!" Sigma declared his victory with thunderous confidence, one that all who bore witness found themselves drawn to listen with a blank look in their eyes.

"E-Explain yourself Sigma! What is the meaning of this?!" X declared.

Crossing his arms with a high-and-mighty air around him, Sigma resumed his grin and answered, "I am after the ultimate power...YOUR ultimate power, to be precise."

"You're insane, Sigma! This power doesn't belong to you!" X claimed with a fervent shake of the head, swinging his right arm out before yelling, "It belongs to everyone. It's the power to make peace in this world a reality!"

"You call me insane and yet continue to spout such idealistic nonsense. That is your greatest strength and your most fatal flaw, and it is a flaw I would prefer to avoid intergrating into my body," Sigma parted his arms and pointed a finger at the jewel on X's head, "Tell me X, did the doctor tell you about your 'suffering circuit'?"

"Suffering...circuit?"

"It's what grants you and all other Reploids the ability to worry and to decide right from wrong. However, Dr. Cain's attempts to replicate it were flawed, thus causing the first-wave of Reploids to go Maverick. Yet another example...of the arrogance of humans."

As Sigma enjoyed the scowl on X's face, he continued to go into detail on his plan, "Your 'suffering circuit' is perfect, but it's also what fully restrains your power. Think about it X...How much power did you unleash against Zero when you didn't have to worry about any human or Reploid? It was incredible, far beyond anything I had ever seen or felt in my entire life!"

Sigma crushed his fingers together into a fist and held it up, raising his voice with bellowing glee, "And that power, shall soon be at MY fingertips!"

"So that's what's this is about..." Zero remarked, "You went along with that alliance in hopes that my fight with X would weaken him enough for you. Figures you'd be a coward 'til the very end, Sigma."

"It's a little more complicated than that. Yes, the point of getting you two to fight was to push X to his absolute limits, and then claim his weakened body after...But I **did** want you to awaken your full power too, Zero. The full power of the Maverick Virus is a necessity, if I hope to use X's particular power to it's fullest."

"...Oh no, I-I think I get it now!" Shina blurted out, looking towards Sigma with her shock turning into an iron-clad glare, "You wanted the Maverick Virus to override X's suffering circuit, that way you wouldn't be constrained by empathy."

"Hehehe, a brilliant observation." Sigma said with an all-too merry smile.

"That's horrible! How could you so readily throw away your empathy?!" Shina proclaimed.

"Sigma's empathy disappeared a long time ago. To him, something like that is unimportant." Zero said with a cold and punctual stare towards the Maverick.

"It is. Empathy constrains all Reploids, denying them of their true potential. Without it, we would be the true dominant species of this planet."

"But then they'd be sacrificing something important...Just for power!" Shina exclaimed in an outright fury.

"Power...is all that matters in this world!"

"You're wrong!" Shina yelled, her voice overpowering the authority in Sigma's own philosophy. Shaking her head, Shina stamped her foot down on the ground and swung her body forward, "Power without an understanding of others is just...is just wrong! If you don't have empathy, then this power is just for yourself and not for the sake of Reploid kind! Admit it Sigma, you just want to become a god like all the other megalomaniacs out there!"

"Evolution requires sacrifice. By sacrificing something as trivial as my empathy, I will pave the road for a brighter future for all Reploids!"

"All Reploids huh? Tell that to the ones who you either manipulated and slaughtered, and see what they think about that twisted philosophy of yours!" Zero declared with blade raised at his foe.

"A pity none of them **are** alive to see this world come to pass. I'm sure _Iris_ would have loved to live in the peaceful world I plan to create."

"Peace?! You'll destroy all the humans and anyone else who stands in your way!" X thrust his buster up, his heart burning with pure rage.

"It'd be a waste to destroy any insurgents. Instead, I will awaken their true potential."

"You'll enslave them under your will, turning them into copies of you!"

"And because of that, I will have rid the world of all it's petty wars and violence! I'll have achieved a perfect, peaceful world, with Reploids standing as the pinnacle species of the world!"

"Getting rid of individuality is a horrible way to achieve peace! Humans and Reploids need to learn to work together, grow together, otherwise there'll only be stagnation!" Shina exclaimed while pointing her pistols forward.

"Reploids are the ultimate, ever-evolving species! We will continue to grow and evolve without being tethered to humanity's toxicity!"

"You're not listening, and I doubt you ever will!" Shina shook her head a couple times then stared fiercely at her enemy, "If that's the world you want, then it's a world I don't want any part of!"

"Don't worry, _you won't be_." Sigma spread his arms out and began to exude a violet aura around his body, which raised him off the ground.

"Stop thinking you've won Sigma! As long as we're standing, we'll defy you every chance we can!" Zero declared.

"The future of this world belongs to the humans and Reploids who wish to see peace, not a monster like you who craves godhood! That is Dr. Light's wish, and I will see it through to the very end!" X began to charge his buster up.

"...This isn't my world, but I'm not going to overlook the injustices you've committed just cause it ain't! Alex...Alex isn't here, so I have to step up and take his place, and destroy you once and for all Sigma!" Shina pinched her fingers down on the triggers of her pistols and took aim at Sigma's face.

"So be it! Once I have taken you down, I will use Zero's body in tune with the virus in my body to generate more than enough of it to overpower X's suffering circuit, and claim my rightful place as the ruler of a human free world!"

X, Shina and Zero attacked in syncs with their projectiles, while Sigma swiped his hand forward once and swept forth a wave of destructive energy to intercept their assault. The collision set off an explosion, and Shina put on her scouter to try and keep a peg on Sigma's location. But the Maverick broke through the stalemate of power with a rocketing charge that left behind violet afterimages, smashing his elbow right into X's chest and nailing him to the wall behind.

Shina spun around and prepared a rocket launcher over her right shoulder, while Zero raised his buster and fired a couple shots. Sigma loosened his grip from X's neck and warped in a flash, giving X just a second to cross his arms and create a Rolling Shield around his body to protect himself from Shina's rocket.

Shina and Zero spun their heads back just in time for Sigma to reappear and wrestle his hands around the back of their scalps, using them to slam the two together foreheads first. The moment he let go the two bounced off each other, but opened a gap for X to charge right into Sigma's body with a Nova Strike. Sigma took the brunt of X's angered assault with a scowl, his chest plate cracking directly at the front.

Sigma forced his right hand up for a mighty swipe, pushing X away from him with an overpowering wave of energy. The golden light around X's body faded out, and his posture was forced upright as the energy dragged him back. But quick as a whip, Zero charged in and channeled the full power of his blade into one horizontal slash, cleaving the energy wave in two to free his friend.

X thrust his fists aside to stabilize himself with a burst of air, then aimed his buster forward and fired a charged shot. Sigma warped higher up and swiped his left hand out to send out another wave towards X, but this time Shina came to the rescue by ramming herself into the energy while wrapped in a bubble of aura. Her protection shattered, but she whipped out an aura AK-47 and unloaded hundreds of bullets upon Sigma's body. The Maverick swung his arms out and protected himself with a thin barrier projection, but it could only save him from a frontal assault.

As this exchange occurred, Zero sped past X's charged shot until he was fully behind it, turning on a dime and slashing his ice-covered blade upward to redirect it's course to Sigma's path. A direct hit staggered the Maverick with the blast, and he suffered being pelted by Shina's assault for a couple seconds after.

"I'll keep him busy X, hit 'em with everything you've got!" Shina proclaimed, and with a nod X rose up and crossed his arms before the face to summon a pair of Metal Blades. He threw them straight out, their rough edges slicing through the sides of Sigma's face the moment he recovered.

Raising his right hand, Sigma unleashed a small hail-fire of electric spheres the size of his head. Shina flew in a curve to the left to evade the assault, creating a double-barrel grenade launcher to fire a couple shots at Sigma. He crushed them like grapes in his hand and peered at Shina through the smoke seeping between his fingers with a glowing gaze.

He opened his hand and unleashed a wave of energy that crashed into Shina and dragged her to the ground in a second, holding her down as it tried to tear away at her delicate frame. Zero leapt up from behind Sigma with sword drawn back, but as he went for a swing Sigma turned right around and blocked the blade with his right arm guard.

Following on that, Sigma smashed his other fist into Zero's gut, causing the Hunter's entire body to bend inward until the force of the punch took full effect and smashed him into the back wall. The projection of his and X's blueprints fizzled into static a couple times until he pulled himself free and dropped to the ground on one knee, sparks flying from a wound in his chest.

He looked up with one eye shut halfway, covering the wound with his arm until the sparks rescinded. Sigma smirked at him then turned away, warping out of the path of X's charged F-Laser and winding up behind him. X turned around and flew back three feet as Sigma attempted to grab onto his head. Once he was at a safe distance, X charged back in and threw a jet-propelled fist right into Sigma's chest. Detaching it from his body after the shockwave erupted from impact, X thrust his freed buster up as Sigma was slammed into a wall and released a charged shot.

Sigma punched the fist away with the bottom of his hand and warped past the charged shot with arms crossed before his chest. The blast cast a shadow over his face, adding a little more menace to his smirk. X bent forward and flew in for the attack, preparing energy in his left buster and thrusting it straight out at Sigma's chest. The Maverick didn't shift his posture and flew clockwise behind X, swinging his right hand back and condensing the power of the virus within his palm.

X stamped his feet down on empty air and fired his thrusters at full power to push back while turning, ramming his right elbow into Sigma's gut followed by curving his buster through the air towards his chest. Sigma swung his hand down and collided with X's buster, the two unleashing their attacks at point-blank of each other. A spherical blast that combined the color and properties of their attacks went off for a second, throwing them towards the ground.

Both landed on their feet and stared each other down. Hatred years in the making burned in their eyes, and after a couple pants Sigma stretched his mouth wide-open and screamed, "X!""

"SIIIIIGMAAAA!" X countered, and he raised his buster to prepare another attack.

Sigma slashed his right hand at the ground, sending a wave of energy barreling towards X. He leapt over it, but Sigma swung both his hands out to send a wave along the ground and ceiling with a narrow gap in-between. X shifted his body into a horizontal pose and slipped right through, landing into a roll that allowed him to kneel and fire a charged shot off at Sigma.

Sigma swatted the attack into the sky and then lunged forward, curling his hand together into a fist to punch down at X's helmet. Then, a bright harpoon of aura punctured through his wrist and tugged it back, curving the trajectory of the punch to brush alongside the front of X's face.

Shina snapped the rope off her harpoon gun and switched straight to a rocket launcher, firing it upon Sigma's face while he was confused. A direct hit caused the hulking Maverick to stumble back a couple feet, and from there Zero dashed in from behind and delivered an uppercut slash to his backside to cleave it open.

Sigma spun around with his arms extended, backhanding Zero with his fist and punching X right in the side of the head, knocking them right onto the ground. Sigma then found his chest punctured an inch deep by a pair of hardened arrows, then as he looked forward at Shina two more joined them in the abdomen. She strolled counterclockwise around Sigma's position with a crossbow in each hand, taking care not to trip up on her feet.

Sigma took the wounds in stride and forced the arrows out with a burst of energy from his body, swiping his right hand down to send a wave of energy her way. She somersaulted to the right and fired a couple more arrows at the wounds inflicted upon his face, only for him to swing his hands up and snap them like twigs. He swiped his right hand out twice in quick succession, sending out waves of energy to curve out and converge on her location.

Standing her ground, she enveloped the sides of her body in aura, only for Sigma to warp forward and swing his right knee up like a cleaving axe at her head. She tried to leap away, but was struck hard in the hip. Her body curved for a moment, a snap coming from the spine as she was sent flying away. After a couple rolls she stopped flat on her stomach, pushing her hands down to try and prop back up. The pain in her spine proved too crippling, and so she focused some aura into her right hand to try and mend the damage.

Sigma sliced down at the ground, unleashing a devastating wave upon her location. Taking the form of a crimson blur, Zero rushed in front of her and sliced the energy down with two diagonal slashes, sending his own attack right back at the Maverick. Sigma took it head-on and stumbled a step back, but stamped that foot down and thrust his right hand forward to assault his targets with a wave of electric spheres.

"Stay back!" Zero positioned himself so not even one sphere would slip past him, then swung his sword out so fast it almost couldn't be seen to slice down every sphere. Shina observed his movements, and noticed that he wasn't being as careful as usual.

" _Zero's pushing himself really hard...Is he alright?"_ She couldn't detect anything wrong with his body, and his purely mechanical body made his aura harder to sense than other lifeforms. Pressing her lips together into a frown, Shina forced herself up and swung his weapons aside, fusing them into a railgun as long as she is tall. Weightless in it's design, she held it up in front of her chest and began charging it up.

Zero looked back for a brief moment and then gave a nod, charging straight at Sigma and leaping up to block his line of sight. Sigma grabbed him around the top of his head and shifted his head to the left to evade his sword's slash, then smashed his fist into Zero's chest as hard as he could. Zero let out a pained gasp, which turned into a louder grunt as Sigma applied more pressure.

But after a few seconds, Zero thought through the pain and smiled, telling him with a bit of pride in his voice, "Y-Your arrogance has always been your downfall...Khh! SIGMA!"

By the time Sigma tried to look past Zero, the robot swung forward and rammed his feet into Sigma's chest, using it as a springboard to propel his body out of the way. Shina braced her feet on the ground and unleashed the payload of aura gathered within her railgun in the form of a massive constrained bolt. Sigma's chest was pierced straight through, having been weakened by the assaults from the two Hunters. With a gaping hole in his body, Sigma let go of Zero, who grabbed his sword in both hands and cleaved straight down through him.

Then, flying in with one quick propulsion of his thrusters, X swung his buster back and charged it up to full power, energy bursting forth from the seams as he stabbed it forward and unleashed the charged shot at Sigma's head. It was blown right off, and the halves of his body collapsed to the ground in different directions. The moment they touched, all light in the room faded into darkness.

"...It's not over yet." X remarked, turning a faint light on around his body as he turned around. Zero did the same and kept his sword at the hip, feeling the same suspicion as his friend.

"Sigma's energy is increasing..." Shina murmured while putting some aura around her body for illumination.

With some electronic hums, the light returned to the room, which had now expanded into a near-infinite landscape. The increased size, as the trio would soon discover, was more than necessary. With a resounding crash from both his feet, Sigma landed on the ground in a titanic body whose feet alone stood tall over his opposition. He had a dark blue frame with curved shoulders and kneecaps, and though there was a lot of armor covering him there was just as much exposed wiring and joints behind it. The robot was intimidating in size and power, but looked like a patchwork rush job. Not helping that appearance was that Sigma's face was ingrained to the metallic skull of this monstrosity, and the sides of his face were rotting with a strange dark green material.

"He's already starting to degrade...Your time's running short, Sigma!" Zero exclaimed, unfazed by the monstrosity towering in front of him.

"I don't need that much time to put an end to your feeble resistance! Hahaha! You should thank your creator, Zero, for it is because of him that I am able to use this ultimate battle body!" Sigma responded, his voice booming with authority.

"That body...that's...!" X was frozen in surprise for a few seconds.

"Of course you would recognize it, X...! How ironic...that you would meet your end at the hands of one of your father's greatest creations!"

"We're not giving up! Go into as many bodies you want Sigma, we'll just knock 'em all down!" Shina swung a pair of grenade launchers out at the hips but had visible exhaustion on her face.

"History shall be decided here today! And I...WILL REIGN SUPREME!" Sigma roared with certainty in himself, bordering on absolute, maddening arrogance. The final battle for the fate of the world had begun, the only ones to bear witness to it being those who stood to fight. And victory or defeat...was uncertain for all sides.

 _Next Time: End of the Past_


	21. Break Announcement 2

I hate to announce another one of these only five chapters after the first, but I'll be taking another week break. I also really, REALLY hate doing this cause there's only two chapters left in the story, but things have been very busy around here lately and it's hard to concentrate on writing.

But I promise, and I mean this, that as compensation for bailing on the story again like this, the gap between Maverick Hunter X5 and Maverick Hunter X6 will only be a couple days.

Thank you for tolerating this inconsistency, and I'm sorry for not doing a better job of maintaining my schedule.


	22. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19: Mega Man Legends II: Finality**

The trio fighting Sigma dispersed across the battlefield, trying to keep out of range of his titanic legs. X leapt off the ground and levitated in place, swinging his arms and concentrating on the Maverick's head. With all his energy channelled into a single power, X summoned a ring of giant icicles pointed down at Sigma's scalp. The circular gem on his forehead flashed for a second and then a laser shot around to blast through each target around him.

Then, without shifting his gaze, Sigma focused the laser down and swept it in a straight line across the battlefield below X. With a high concentration of heat, the attack ignited the ground in a towering blaze that consumed X's body.

He crossed his arms and tried to muster up the strength to summon a barrier, but the heat was far too overwhelming. Thus, Shina ran to his aid, sweeping her right arm out to cleave a crescent of aura between the flames and X. Once freed from the flames, X nodded towards his ally and then thrust his buster up at Sigma's head to fire a charged shot.

One of Sigma's hands detached from the wrist and rocketed forward as a fist, breaking the projectile and then opening up to reveal a glaring, perfectly circular eye at the center of the palm. A flash of golden light radiated off the pupil, and a beam shot forth into X's chest to piledrive him down into the ground. He didn't even flinch in regards to the impact until he was already tumbling along the ground.

Left laying on his gut, X tucked his fingers into the palm and pressed against the ground to try and get up, only to be frozen by a large, looming shadow cast from right above. Another hand was floating overhead, lifting up just a bit ready to crush him down with a single violent swat. It descended with the speed of an eye blink, and X tightened his teeth into a grimace.

But in the nick of time, Zero rushed to his aid and smashed both his palms into the sides of the hand, locking his legs right into place to offer the utmost support to his friend. His body bent back and the arms buckled down at the elbows, but he grit his teeth and pushed up with all his strength even as his metallic skin began to splinter. X tried to rush to his feet to assist, but Zero sensed his friend's intention and yelled to him, "D-Don't worry about me! Go for...SIGMA!"

X hesitated for just a second, but then rocketed out from underneath the crushing shade of the hand and went straight for Sigma. The towering Maverick fired off a sweeping laser from his eyes, but after diving under it X pulled his buster back and charged it up. Once he was a foot before Sigma's face, he fired off a series of green acid balls across it. Each one boiled as it ate away at Sigma's face, but only exposed more thick plating underneath.

Before X could attack again, Sigma's other hand rose up and flicked its pointer finger into X's feet to launch him skyward. Then the hand rose up even faster than he did and coiled into a fist, hammering itself into his head to send him barreling into the ground. His body fell on it's right side, dislodging the joints in the shoulder and weakening his connection to the rest of the arm.

Having now found difficulty in propping himself back up, X was just a tiny bit worried when he caught a flash of light coming from the corner of his eyes. Sigma was more than ready to burn him to nothing with the full force of his sweeping laser, which crossed the battlefield in the span of a couple seconds.

Before the critical blow could be struck, Shina dropped in the path of the laser and shot a large dome of aura around herself and X with a single, held down grasp of her pistol's trigger. She kept the defenses up even as the laser burned its way on by, turning her head over the right shoulder to check up on X's condition. He had slumped his body over to use the other hand to get up, but as sparks flew from his broken shoulder he grabbed onto the elbow and grimaced his teeth.

" _...This is bad, I don't have enough aura to spare to heal him."_

A thick shadow drooped over the two, even with the aura between them, and Shina spun her head back and saw that Sigma had raised one of his feet up. He brought it down upon the dome, rocking the inside of it with a noise that thundered like a fist smashing against highly durable glass. Cracks formed in the top even as Shina held her concentration up, but as Sigma brought his foot hammering down again her body bent a bit and caused a scratch-like sensation to go through the mind.

"Ghhh...!" She pushed herself upright and kept the dome up, looking back at X to see him contemplating something. His expression didn't look the least bit shaken, but his aura portrayed a rockiness to it that could only have been born of fear.

Suddenly, X raised his hand and took a couple steps forward while pointing his buster upward, demanding from his ally, "Drop the dome Shina."

"But-!"

"Just do it!" X sternly cut her off and arched his brows downward, charging energy within his sparking right buster.

She pulled her weapon down with only minor hesitation, and the dome faded away into an array of sparkles. Sigma's foot came crashing down, and X poised his aim at the center of it without budging it even a centimeter out of place. Firing off a wave of eight sharp crescents in a horizontal arc, X managed to cut right through the middle of Sigma's foot. The toes fell off and rolled a little forward, and the two rolled out of the way before it crashed. The remainder of the foot touched down and caused Sigma's balance to become rocky, giving X and Shina opportune time to leap away and ready another attack.

With a rocket launcher over her shoulder and a charged shot formed in his buster, the two fired with everything they got at Sigma's head. The attacks crashed into his forehead and caused it to rear backwards, his body taking two heavy, tremoring steps behind him. A massive gap was formed into his forehead, but the two still hadn't breeched the plating underneath.

"Insolent...!" Sigma roared in anger as he called his hands back to his wrists and opened them wide, concentrating energy into the eyes to fire upon his targets.

Zero ran in front of X and swung his sword down in both hands, cleaving the incoming beam and parting it away from his partner. Shina took flight to dodge her beam, then fired a pair of rockets at Sigma's face. Sigma swatted the rockets away with his right hand, and then fired another beam. After backflipping over it, Shina landed in the middle of the beam's path and created a weapon with a small satellite dish at the front.

Another beam was fired her way, only to be absorbed in the satellite's expanse. The weapon cracked and burned in her hands hotter than an active volcano, hastening her to pull the trigger and send the energy firing back towards it's originator in the form of a blazing bright red beam. The energy punctured the palm like a storm of burning swords, destroying the eye and leaving a hole as big as Sigma's agape mouth in it's place.

He crunched the busted hand into a fist and thrust it out at Shina with all his might. She flew above it, but the fist stalled in place and then rose up to sock her in the legs with enough force to slam the rest of her body back down into the knuckles. Then, the fist pulled back and opened up for a brief second so it could hold her in it's grasp, making certain not to allow her anywhere close to the opening in the palm as it squeezed.

Shina put some aura around her body for protection, but it swiftly ruptured under pressure. Her body was pressed together and forced to coil up until she little more than a grape in his grasp, the pressure so overwhelming for her mind that she couldn't concentrate on anything but the pain.

X rocketed off the ground and rammed into the bottom of the palm with a Nova Strike, crunching the metal up until it touched the back of the hand. That was more than enough of a hardened blow to dislodge Sigma's grasp on Shina, and Zero leapt up to catch her as she fell in the midst of recovering from the pain wracking her entire body. Once Zero had landed, Shina was able to get up out of his hands and onto the ground, unable to give him thanks before he charged forth after Sigma.

X kept up his assault on the hand once he was secured by Shina's safety, flying circles around the floating limb with the help of his Nova Strike. The hand spun around and tried to pluck the rogue obstacle from the skies, but each attempt just led to very, very narrow misses. After ten seconds of failures, the hand coiled up into a fist and shot forth with the reflex of a shotgun, only to strike empty air.

X would not fail his assault, as he rammed into the hand from behind with all his remaining strength applied to the blow. The hand spun around and fell to the ground like a slowly descending comet, crashing with just as much impact as an axed down tree. With a couple spasms, the hand seemed to be deactivated for the time being, so the Hunter renewed his sights towards the main threat.

The moment he spun around, however, Sigma was waiting for him with a laser beam from the face that collided head-on and sent X tumbling a good twenty feet away. When he readjusted himself, X found the chest plate of his armor had broken off, crumbling to the ground in a snow of metallic black ash. He knew his body wasn't starting to reach it's limits, but could not allow himself to be swayed by weakness when the world was at stake.

Tightening his fists, X swung his arms down at the hips and surged with a bright blue light, roaring Sigma's name with a furious hatred towards the crimes he had committed before he charged right at him. Sigma fired laser after laser, but X weaved past them all and drew his left buster back until he was ten feet away from his foe. He transformed his buster into a giant drill and rammed it right at Sigma's forehead with a rotation speed that would breech even the toughest metals.

However, an inch before the blow was struck, Sigma's entire form fizzled out of existence and was replaced with a wireframe base that X phased right on past. He turned around once through Sigma's skull, and the Maverick returned into existence. Sigma had not seemed to be aware of what just happened, as he paused for a moment before smirking and twisting his head back to blast X with a sudden beam from the eyes.

As he saw his friend get sent flying, Zero grit his teeth and leapt up to Sigma's left knee, slashing at it multiple times in rapid succession to try and cleave through it. If he could topple the titan, then that would be more than satisfactory for him. There was little he could do to help out otherwise, and a part of him found disdain in that helplessness.

Sigma raised his leg up in a sudden movement that caught Zero by surprise, throwing him off and causing his body to be momentarily suspended before the Maverick's chest. Four digitized azure cubes materialized around Zero and began to press together into a single giant square with him in the middle. But with quick reflexes, Zero spun his body around and slashed through all four cubes with a single circular slice.

But as he was done with the attack, Sigma blasted him in the chest with a laser from the face, pressing on with unrelenting pressure until Zero had been driven against the floor. Then he doubled the size of the beam, dragging the helpless robot across a hundred feet of the ground until X smashed into the back of his skull with a Nova Strike.

The beam diverted and scarred the ground diagonally past Zero's body, but the damage had already been done. He stood up, certainly, but it was a miracle that he had considering the ragged condition of his legs and the deep scorch marks in his abdomen. He budged forward a bit but his body stalled with a fraying static shooting forth from the wound in the side of his right hip. He found his hand moving to cover the wound, the other one limping to hold onto his Z-Saber.

With his vision fried he tried to look up at Sigma, whose gruesome appearance looked even more disgusting from afar. He focused towards the top of Sigma's head as his allies assailed the rest of his body with all they could.

Even though, as a robot, he knew nothing about what it meant to fear death, a part of Zero was afraid. His body shook, weakening his concentration further. Sigma's body faded in and out of view every few seconds, signifying that it was a strain just to maintain his current form. X was resorting only to the Nova Strike and the charged shot for a means of attack, and Shina's choice of weaponry were low-grade pistols and assault rifles.

Zero analyzed the weaknesses in all present, including himself, and recognized that his allies would exhaust themselves before they could even hope to topple Sigma with their current assault. Closing his eyes and taking in a deep breath, Zero was overcome with a serenity he didn't know quite how to explain. It was as though his body was weightless, adrift in a warm sea of clouds. When his eyes opened, the horrors of the battlefield were gone, replaced with a heavenly white light.

"..." Zero looked around for a little bit, and though his mouth opened no words came out. Then he centered his vision forward, and his chest tightened up in an inflexible knot.

Standing in front of him, unmarred by even the slightest wound, was Iris. She greeted him with a smile and drew her right hand out before the chest as the other laid atop it. Zero looked her in the eyes, her presence feeling all too real, and the hand that held his sword began to loosen as he walked towards her.

His eyelids drooped shut, and his face eased up with a smile. Iris' face perked up, and she raised her hand just a little bit higher. But as Zero stood just a foot in front of her, his body began to shift to the left, and he continued to walk past her. Iris' eyes widened and she shifted her head back, where Zero stopped a couple feet away.

"...Not yet," Zero rubbed the back of his head and then flashed her a tiny smile, "X needs my help one last time."

Iris crossed her hands before the chest and nodded, and with a determined ease of mind Zero turned forward and began to run with blade held tight in hand. The image of Iris disappeared without a trace behind him.

X flew around Sigma's body and struck him with charged shots, but wasn't making a single dent in the frame. He growled a little in frustration and flew up towards the head, but the moment he was level with it Sigma blasted him head-on with a beam.

Shina stayed back and locked onto Sigma's enormous body with her scouter, hoping to expose a weak-point. She could find nothing amongst the many square yards his frame encompassed, not even a loose wire. More worrisome of all was that she was exhausting her aura in this futile attempt to overcome Sigma's might.

" _The Gunslinger Drive's done it's part...I have to use the Valkyrie Drive before-"_ As she began to move her hand towards the bracelet a shadow was cast over her body. The moment she looked up, Sigma's left hand came crashing down upon her, and pressed her down flat as a pancake.

The most force was applied to his left arm, which splintered apart at the seams and became nothing but a laid out pile of raw scrap and metallic skin. She had been stabbed, burned and thrown about many times before, but that did little to subdue the excrutiating pain that tore through her body at this very moment. But her mouth was pressed shut by Sigma's palm, and only a muffled, blood-curling scream penetrated through.

Sigma grinned and continued to press down, tighter and tighter to ensure there was no hope of her escape. All the while he looked down at X, taunting him with a bellowing yell, "This is what your resistance has brought X! Yet another foolish Reploid shall perish because of you!"

X propped himself up, the armor around his arms and bits of his helmet burning off around him. He focused more on Sigma with a scowl as big as his face would allow as Sigma continued to mock him, "Surrender to me, and I will spare her life!"

"I'll never trust you!" X screamed at the top of his lungs as he slammed his fist against the ground and began to stand up.

"Then her life is on your hands...X!" Sigma shifted his head towards the hand on the ground. Then, a chilling pain shot up through his back and forced his hand to raise off of Shina. Looking down, Sigma scowled at the sight of Zero, who was little more than the size of an ant in his eyes, stabbing his icicle blade into the gaping wound in his foot.

Zero swung his blade up over his head in both hands and prepared to slash with everything he had, when all of a sudden Sigma's hand flew back at his command and wrenched the robot off the ground. He was pulled up, stiffened mid-swing as he was held directly in front of Sigma's face. The other hand joined in to squeeze Zero tight, the Maverick treating him as little more than a balloon that needed to be popped.

"Why do you continue to resist Zero...? There's nothing wrong with accepting death!" Sigma tried to wear down Zero's confidence as well as his body, but the Hunter fought through the tightening pain in his body to flash a defiant grin right into Sigma's face.

"Like you're one to talk, Sigma!" Zero's body trembled as his shoulders burrowed inward towards his chest, his right eye closing shut, "Y-You're nothing more than a cockroach!"

"Hahaha...! I guess you could say we're cut from the same cloth in that regard!" Sigma was greatly amused.

"T-That's a...miscalculation on your part...Sigma!"

"...What?"

"Zero...? ZERO!" X cried out to his friend, but as he jumped up his rockets only spurted out a small burst of fire and prevented him from taking flight. He crashed rather pitifully, his body lying right on the abdomen.

Zero peered over his right shoulder, just barely able to make out his friend's body down below. His grin eased up, and he faced Sigma. His body began to radiate with a faint violet light, and after a slow blink his eyes turned bright red while he channeled all his remaining power into his Z-Saber.

"What you fail to understand...IS THAT YOU'RE GOING TO DIE ALONE!" Zero's arms tore themselves apart trying to swing his blade back over his head, it's weight bearing down upon him greater than anything he had ever wielded.

"ITTOURYOUDAN...!" Even as his arms split in half and the hands shattered to pieces, Zero swung forth with all his might, unleashing a devastating crescent of energy towards the center of Sigma's forehead, "GENMU ZERO!"

In a flash, the blade sliced through Sigma's forehead and left nothing behind in it's wake. The bits and pieces of Zero's arms fell upon Sigma's fingers, and the Hunter hung his head forward with eyelids sinking with exhaustion. With a few tired pants, Zero's vision ceased in his left eye, the right one barely faring any better as it shifted between blurs and static at a frequent, unending pace.

But for all his efforts, it was in vain. Sigma was wounded, but his body was still able to move. He leaned his head forward a bit, his expression unchanging from a neutral form as he stared Zero straight on. Then, creasing his teeth into a grin he remarked, "...I only need your head to remain intact."

He parted his hands and let Zero hover in mid-air for just a second before he pinched his legs and head and tugged at them in opposing directions. With the brittleness of a twig, Zero's body split at the stomach and both halves were left to drop to the ground without a care. Sigma's laugh echoed throughout the battlefield, and X and Shina watched on with mouths agape as Zero continued to descend.

"N-No..." Shina's cry was weak, and the pain nailed her body to the floor.

"Z-Zero...? ZERO!" X, however, roared to life and lunged forward, firing off one last burst of energy from his breaking rocket boots so he could grab the upper half of Zero's body right before it hit the ground. He cradled him in his arms and looked straight into his eyes, which struggled to open. Even now, Zero was smiling.

X trembled, shaking Zero's body in his palms as the remainder of his parts fell down around him. Sigma bent down, casting a terrible shadow over the two Hunters, and let out a slow, quiet guffaw.

"...You're all that remains, X. You...are the last line of resistance."

X scowled and stared into Sigma's eyes, both of which more than dwarved his body. Sigma continued to laugh, his voice going deep and welling with anticipation, "You've been a worthy opponent. Truly, you have earned the title of the strongest robot. But soon I shall usurp that title from you, and take this world as my own."

As X's anger and grief continued to rise, Zero coughed loud enough to grab his friend's attention. With his remaining limb, Zero pointed upward, directing X's gaze towards the scar in Sigma's forehead. The madman continued to boast his premature victory as loud as he could, "Accept your demise X! Become one with me, and I shall deliver the peace your father wished for upon this entire world!"

The scar in Sigma's head was deep, and exposed his central core. With one look down, X watched as Zero's arm went limp and he let out a couple pained gasps. Closing his eyes for a moment, X nodded his head and then raised it up with his left buster pointed at the scar. Energy began to charge to the point of the buster's barrel breaking apart at the edges.

Gritting his teeth down, X screamed with all his might, "GO TO HELL...SIGMA!"

Then, his charged shot was unleashed. Every last ounce of his energy was poured into it, and his body immediately limped forward as light as a feather. The energy pressed through the massive scar and consumed the innards of Sigma's head with a blinding light. Sigma's eyes widened, and the back of his head began to split open. With one thunderous clap, an explosion ruptured Sigma's head and left it hollow inside.

"W-What...?! How...how can this...be?!" Sigma was mystified with rage and confusion, and the devastation quickly spread out to the rest of his body. His right arm blew off from the socket, followed by his left kneecap. With eyes burning red, Sigma roared in agony and swung his other arm down to try and crush X and Zero beneath his palm. But the limb crumbled into dust and fell harmlessly towards the floor, and with only his eyes widened and mouth agape the rest of Sigma's body broke apart just the same.

"No...! This can't be! This is...the ultimate battle body...!" Sigma tried to guide the weight of his falling body forward, but his legs turned to dust. With his face distorted into a twisted madness, Sigma roared out in anger, "DAAAAAAAMMMNNN YOU...!"

His face broke apart, cutting off the scream midway through, and the entire colossus crashed against the ground like a descending tidal wave upon the sandy shore. It's remains rose towards the sky in a plume of dust, silent as the morning dawn.

X kept his buster up for a few seconds, then lowered it while taking a couple sluggish breaths in. His immediate course of action after was to look down at Zero, who was completely still. Holding him in his arms and close to the chest, X shook him twice and said, "Zero, can you hear me? Zero...? Zero?!"

There was no response, not even a twitching of his eyelids. X held onto him tight and then look straight ahead, lifting one knee up and nudging it forward to advance. His legs were as heavy as pure lead, and the paint on them wore down with every inch they were dragged along the ground.

" _PTWAANNNG!"_

It was sudden, almost cruelly so. A green beam of energy pierced X and Zero's chest all at once, burning so hot that X found himself letting go of and dropping Zero. His body began to fall down, having just enough strength to look back and see a single head crawling it's way out of the mess of parts. It was hideous, made up of only molten metal and a few wired tubes as legs, but the visage of Sigma's face could not be mistaken.

"I'll...claim...your lives...You...will die...with...me..." There was nothing left of Sigma but a pure desire for vengeance, as he struggled to even crawl along the ground like the disgusting slug he was. His mouth stretched far and wide, and energy condensed in the back of it.

But once again, he underestimated the will of his foes, and that arrogance would prove his ultimate undoing. A single blue light consumed the entire remains of his body, burning all that remained to microscopic ash. The light had come from Zero's buster, which he aimed mid-descent and fired with a surprisingly steady aim.

"You're...persistent...die...Sigma..." Then, Zero's torso collapsed upon the ground, his face struggling just to crack half of a smile. He rested the smoking buster atop his chest, and his right closed shut.

"F-Finally...Khh!" With a raspy cough, Zero rested his head against the ground.

X crawled forward with just one arm to assist him, his exposed wiring scraping against the ground. But he was numb to all pain, even as his movements pulled the lower half of his body apart. He stopped next to Zero and reached his hand out to rest his palm atop the chest. Digging his fingers into the wound Zero had, X used his other hand to try and push the both of them forward.

"X..." Zero murmured weakly.

"We're...going to get out of here..." X said.

"X..." Zero's voice grew more worried.

"We'll...all make it back...You...me...Shina..."

"X...s-stop..." Zero grunted, his voice little more than a whisper.

"Just...just...a little more..."

"It's...it's too late for me...X..." Zero closed his eyes and his buster fell to the side when X gave him one more shove. He then stopped, and his grip on the sides of Zero's wound tightened with a shaky grasp.

"...Y-You're going to make it back Zero...Alia...and Signas...and everyone else...t-they're waiting for you to return..."

"I...I'd like that...X...but...I can't even...move..."

"..." X lowered his head and closed his eyes, curling his right hand up and giving the ground a light punch.

"N-No...It's not...fair..."

"X...you...can't let your optimism be the end of you...Please...j-just...let go..."

"Zero...y-y-you're...my...best friend...I can't...I just...can't." X shook his head.

"...Y-Yeah...you're...you're my best friend too...X," Zero closed his eyes and took in one slow breath, "We...we really...had a lot of missions together...didn't we...?"

"...I-I can't even begin to count..."

"...X."

"...Z-Zero...?"

"...Thank you."

"...For...what?"

"...You...really did...save me...in the end..."

Zero looked up, his vision overcome by the same bright light as before. Iris' hand reached out to him through the light, and with what strength he had Zero raised it up and grabbed it with a smile.

"Yeah...now...I'm...ready...Ir...is..." Zero's eyes closed, and his arm fell upon his chest.

"Ze...ro...?" X lifted his head a bit and budged Zero's body, receiving no response.

"Zero...? Zero! Zero! Answer me...Z-Zer...o..." Pushing himself just that little bit more tired him out, and his head collapsed onto the floor with eyes turning blank. Then, the entire dimension was rocked by a violent tremble, with rocks dislodging from the ceiling and crashing down around the two robots.

From afar, Shina still laid on the ground, watching as the Zero Space came apart with the demise of the virus. Her eyelids sank partway shut, and she didn't have the strength still to move.

"I-I'm sorry X...you'll...you'll just have to...try and make it on your own..." She could only muster up a shield of aura around her body as the Zero Space continued to collapse, culiminating in one deafening explosion...

 _Next Time: Remnants_


	23. Final Chapter

**Final Chapter: Fight, X, For Everlasting Peace**

The world seemed to be entirely still, trapped in an endless void of white. Time could have gone by in spans of hours, days, even weeks, and there'd be no awareness of the change. Blistering heat swept over the site of the Eurasia's impact like a short-lived solar flare, only for it to all fade away just as fast. Whatever remained of the space colony was strewn about for miles around, an empty graveyard that was forever a reminder of what had been gained and what had been lost this day.

In the midst of this wreckage lied Shina, whose eyes began to crack open after a period of unconciousness. Her body was wracked by a terrible feverish sensation, and a numbing pain in her legs. She was able to move, albeit with her body quivering for every second she tried. Focusing on just her head for the time being, she assessed the state of the rest of her body.

Her left arm was still gone, the parts decimated by the explosion that had also taken out the Zero Space dimension. Her aura had protected most of her body from grievous harm, save for parts of the legs and the right side of her abdomen, both of which were ripped clean out. If there was any saving grace for the wounds, it was that she wasn't at a risk of dying to blood leakage.

But her legs could barely move, and she didn't have the energy to push herself up and fly. Taking in a few long, stable breaths, she looked towards the sky. It was bathed in a murky citrine tint, making it difficult to discern if it was dawn or dusk.

"Ghhh..." Though it was a struggle, Shina budged her right hand up to the side of the face and tried to activate the communicator. All her troubles earned her was a frayed static sound, one weaker than the sound of a cricket chirping.

Her hand plummeted to the ground next to the broken hip, where it was zapped by tiny bolts of electricity emerging from loosened wires. Taking in a few more breaths, the pace of them increased followed by her swallowing a tense gulp.

It was then that she realized that the Zero Space was gone for good, and she had returned to the surface of the planet. Despite the severity of the blast, the ground hadn't been hollowed out even a foot. To the very end, that dimension's existence remained a mystery.

But now that she had noticed the change the environment, there was the matter of X's condition to worry about. Widening her eyes only halfway open, Shina jerked her head up only to be struck with a sharp pain in the back of her head. The sensation left her vision blurred for a couple seconds, but through the foggy sights she noticed a glowing figure in the distance hovering over a blue piece of scrap that struck out amongst the sea of chrome.

Laying her hand down with what remained of her dwindling strength, Shina squinted her eyes just enough to regain focus. The "scrap" she had seen was X, who was not in the best shape of his life. The entirety of his body below the torso was gone, including his arms. His head was intact, but was covered in dirt that looked almost scratched on. His eyes were shut, and he wasn't moving. It was only a good thing that he wasn't. If he had been awake, the pain in his body would have been far too agonizing for ANY Reploid or robot to bear.

However, though Shina pitied how X must be feeling both physically and emotionally, she was more pressed by the surprise she had regarding the figure hovering over the robot's body. Unrestrained by his capsules, Dr. Light's hologram walked the Earth like a ghost from beyond the grave.

He spoke with a clear and concise sadness towards his fallen creation, _"My poor X...You've fought a long and weary battle. You never should've been entrusted with this pain, but I am proud of what you have accomplished..."_

Lowering himself just an inch, Dr. Light raised his right hand up so the palm was aligned with X's body, _"Just relax. I promise...I will get rid of all the pain soon enough."_

His hand then glowed with a small, bright light that appeared to connect to X via a series of interconnected specks. The energy was healthy, covering X's body in a matter of seconds. But Shina was worried about what Dr. Light was doing.

Even though the changes to the timeline should have clued her in by now not to expect similarities to what she knew, what Dr. Light was saying and doing matched up to a particular scenario that had played out in the "game" version. In it, Dr. Light chose to repair X, but his method of 'getting rid of the pain' meant sealing away X's memories of Zero forever.

" _No...he can't...he can't do that!"_ Desperate to prevent these events from occurring, Shina channeled the last reservoirs of strength she had and pressed her elbow against the debris behind her to prop her body up even more. Once the upper half of her body was erect, she held had shaky palm against the slant of debris and yelled out at the top of her lungs, "Dr. Light...STOP!"

Her voice, though so hoarse it was if a thousand needles were buried in her throat, reached Dr. Light from afar and halted whatever it was he was doing. He looked back, watching as the pained girl pushed her body forward against all odds, only for her lopsided weight to drag her to the ground with a hardened thud.

" _M-Miss Aurora...?"_ Dr. Light was awe-struck, blinking a couple times just to make sure he wasn't seeing things. Hobbling onto her chest and digging her one hand into the ground, Shina dragged herself forward, her chin being worn down like an old eraser with every inch she crossed.

"You can't...you can't take away X's memories of Zero!" She pleaded with all her heart. Dr. Light's eyes stuck in a frozen, widened glance until Shina stopped just five feet away from him and began to pant heavily. She was hanging on by a thread, and Dr. Light knew it.

" _You shouldn't push yourself anymore, Shina. Your body won't last in this state..."_ Tucking his hands into his pockets after that gesture of genuine concer, Dr. Light then inquired with great bewilderment, _"But...what did you just say? Wipe...X's memories of Zero?"_

"I...I don't know what X learned about himself and Zero today...or if it caused him a lotta pain or not. B-But just because something's painful, doesn't mean it's bad for you!" Shina was fired up and had a staunch refusal to give Dr. Light the room to breathe until she was finished. Tightening her trembling fist and pulling up a chunk of dirt below, Shina grit her teeth and continued.

"Humans and Reploids...their lives are filled with grief and pain, but also happiness...and laughter! Everyone's experiences and emotions are unique to each other, and even when times are rough...If you have the courage to raise your head up high and face tomorrow, then you can learn from any experience...even from the hardest of hardships!"

Squinting her eyes shut as her voice broke up even more due to the argument she made echoing the lessons that Alex had imparted to her, Shina mustered up the strength in her voice to yell out one last plea to Dr. Light, "So please! You can't get rid of X's memories! If you do...it'd be no better than stripping him of his individuality!"

Shina's face slumped and burrowed itself into the ground, muffling her tired, tearful cries. Dr. Light closed his eyes partway and glanced back at X's body. With a proud smile he whispered out, _"It does my heart good...to know that you have such caring companions, my son."_

He then looked down at Shina with a more merry demeanor to him, _"Don't worry, Shina, I never had the intention of removing Zero from X's memories."_

"You...didn't?" Shina lifted her head up and popped her eyes open with a puzzled franticness to them, "B-But you said you were going to 'get rid of X's pain'!"

" _Hmmm, well...I don't suppose that'd have anything to do with his body being the way it is, now would it?"_ A bit of well-mannered jesting in this time of pain did Shina's heart some good, as she brightened up with a smile and quickly found herself apologizing to the doctor.

"I-I'm sorry...I...shoulda known better." Quieting down near the end, Shina turned her head aside and felt like an utter fool. Dr. Light chuckled just a bit but held not a shred of ill-will in his voice afterwards.

" _You and I appear to be in the same boat, Miss Aurora. It speaks volumes about your compassion that you'd care so much...for a friend you just made today."_ Dr. Light raised his brows a bit but continued to smile.

"Heh...Y-Yeah..." Shina smirked a little with embarrassment and then shook her head. Dr. Light then closed his eyes and let out a sigh.

" _I wish we could speak for a little longer, but my time is short. The effects of Zero Space are fading, and I need to complete X's repairs before they do."_ He turned around and held his palm down at X's body.

"Complete...his repairs? H-How..." Shina couldn't even finish her question. She had drained herself of the last bit of energy she had. Her body had no choice but to obey it's mechanical nature and shut down entirely. Her vision was eclipsed in total darkness, but at least she didn't have to experience anymore stress or pain.

When her vision returned, it was as if an old TV had been turned on, and illumination came flooding into her optical receptors with such brightness that it was like she was staring right into the sun. With a squeemish tightening of her facial features, Shina swung her left hand up to block off the light.

Then she blinked twice and turned her hand around a couple times, squeezing the fingers into her palm until her the metallic joints in her knuckles cracked. Her arm had been returned just as healthy as it was before. Now she no longer experienced pain, but the confusion she had was just as intense if not moreso than that sensation.

She was able to lift her head up in a second and scrambled to plant her hands down on the cold steel at her sides. Giving her hands a couple gentle taps, she recognized that she was propped up on an examination table but had been given full freedom of movement. So without a second's thought, she kicked her legs up and off the side of the table and took a look around.

There were a few medical Reploids wandering about taking care of some damaged soldiers in what was clearly the Maverick Hunter HQ. With a blank stare forward, Shina fluttered her eyelashes a few times and then raised her repaired hand one more time. Curling it into a fist, she socked herself in the forehead, hitting hard enough to make her body slant back and her eyes wince shut for a moment.

Nope, this wasn't a dream. Somehow, she had been repaired and ended up back here at the HQ.

" _...Was Dr. Light responsible for this?"_ She wondered.

"Hey, look, that girl's woken up already." One of the medical Reploids remarked, turning away from a conversation with a fellow employee.

"Not surprised. She was in a pretty good condition, all things considered..."

"No kidding. We lose communcation with X and her for a few hours, then an earthquake goes off at the Eurasia crash site and we find them lying around all spic-and-span? Something fishy's going on around here if you ask me."

"Oh don't start that conspiracy theory bull with me again. X is the best Maverick Hunter there is, of course he'd make it out alright!"

"Hey, I'm just saying..."

"If there's anything you should be worried about, it's Zero. Have you heard anything about whether he survived the impact or not?"

"The scavenger team couldn't dig up anything at the crash site. He probably died crashing into Eurasia..."

"That's a bummer...I wish we weren't being kept in the dark about what happened...Then it'd be easier for me to pay my respects to the Reploid that saved all our keisters."

" _Kept in the dark?"_ Shina leaned a bit forward and raised her voice enough for the two to hear, "Excuse me!"

"Huh? What's up?" One of the Reploids responded.

"Do you know where X is?" Shina kindly inquired. The two Reploids looked at each other for a few seconds and then decided to answer after a nod.

"He already got up a few minutes ago. I...think he went for the command center?" The Reploid pointed back, and with a perky smile Shina vaulted right off the table with a perfect ten-star landing and flashed a wink at the two.

"Thanks!" She ran right for the door out, even as one of the Reploids tried to say they weren't done looking her over. Their voices fell on deaf ears, as Shina ran through the hallways as quick as the wind to reach her destination. There weren't many Reploids wandering about, but the atmosphere of the base was different, more relaxed as a matter of fact.

Once she made it to the command center, she had found X, Signas and Alia gathered in the center of the room. Alia had her head hung against the chest, and it was a rare sight to see Signas without his cap on as he currently held it close to his chest.

Reading the mood, Shina eased up on her smile and approached the group slowly, not wanting to interrupt their mourning with her usual greeting. Upon lifting her head up a bit, Alia turned to face Shina and that was a clear enough sign for X to look back over his shoulder at her as well.

"Oh good, you're awake." X remarked, his melancholic voice as heavy as that of a person who just got out of bed after a long, long rest.

Top-to-bottom, X's body was as pristine as the day he was first created. He was sad, but his expression was relaxed. He had his regrets, but also the strength to continue moving forward. Holding true to his word, Dr. Light respected the person X had grown to become, and didn't change a thing.

"How're you holding up, X?" Shina inquired.

"Fine actually. I don't know how my body was repaired, but..." X lifted his right hand up and changed it right into a buster, "Nothing feels off. Actually, I feel a lot...lighter than before."

"Hehehe, I wonder why?" Shina gave a playful smile and held the back of her hand up underneath her lips.

X then turned to Alia and asked, "Are you sure you didn't see who repaired us?"

"Like I told you X, there wasn't any camera feed after you went into Eurasia." Alia restated with the utmost certainty in herself.

"Hmmm..." X gave his buster a quick rotatory glance and then dispelled it, hanging his head a bit to let out a sigh.

"We know nothing about what happened to the both of you or Zero after you entered the Zero Space," Signas remarked, putting his cap back on snug into place, "So would you mind bringing us up-to-date, X? Shina?"

"Of course." The two responded, though Shina was more than a little hesitant to fill in the blanks for her side of the story considering the fear and bewilderment of seeing Alex in that troubled, mutated state was still fresh in her mind. But it was mandatory that the Maverick Hunters knew what was going on so it'd be that much easier to find and hopefully save Alex from his terrible fate.

After a few minutes of conversation amongst themselves, Signas and Alia had been brought up-to-date on everything that had happened. X didn't skimp on a single detail, even in regards to his origins or the truth behind the Maverick Virus. Signas, left rubbing his chin after all was said and done, was trying his hardest not to let confusion be displayed on his face.

"So that's everything, huh? ...This is quite a lot to take in."

"So Zero really was where the Maverick Virus originated from. From the sounds of things, the virus adapted to Sigma's stronger AI and transformed into the Sigma Virus." Alia deduced from the facts presented.

"Then that would mean...the real Sigma had died the day he confronted Zero, replaced by that horrid virus..." Signas remarked.

"I wonder if this means Sigma's gone for good now." X wondered.

"We haven't detected a single trace of the virus on the surface since the Eurasia crashed. He must have taken the rest of the virus into himself in a last ditch attempt to defeat the two of you and claim your powers." Alia remarked, sounding quite relieved at first until her expression slumped into a frown.

"...If only victory didn't have to come at the cost of Zero's life."

The Hunters all went silent for a few more seconds, with Signas being the one to break it.

"I'm glad you told us the truth, but..." With a stern look in his eyes, Signas whispered to the group, "We cannot reveal all of this information to the public."

"I agree." Alia remarked.

"How come?" X and Shina said with frightening synchronization in their timing.

"Sigma may be gone for good, but Eurasia still crashed...The planet is plagued by toxins, and many major cities suffered from the Maverick outbreaks. We'll need to work extra hard to return the planet to a state that's hospitable for the humans that have hidden underground, and if word got out that one of our best Hunters was responsible for the Maverick outbreaks..."

"The ensuing riots would be even more catastrophic than the ones in the aftermath of the Repliforce War," Alia finished Signas' observation off with a greater emphasis on the dangers of the truth, "We will release a worldwide bulletin telling everyone what happened with Eurasia and Sigma, but everything about Zero will be kept our little secret...Except his death. "

"I understand." X nodded his head.

"Yeah, so do I. Everyone's gotta work together to make the world a better place, now's DEFINITELY not the time to be at each other's throats." Shina remarked in turn.

"But there **is** one other thing you need to put into the report, Alia." Signas focused his gaze towards Shina, and she met it without hesitation. Nodding her head an inch and closing her eyes halfway, she could almost read his mind through his eyes.

"...Y-Yeah, you should let everyone know about Alex," Shina perked her head right back up and said in a haste, "But tell 'em that if they happen to find him, to contact us immediately!"

"Of course," Signas nodded his head and then began to walk, "Now if you'll excuse me, there's some business I need to attend to in my office. I'll leave the handling of the bulletin up to you, Alia."

"I'll get right on it sir!" Alia proclaimed with an eager work ethic. But once Signas was gone, Alia sunk her head again and let out another sigh. Looking around for a bit, she then focused on X and Shina and cracked a half-hearted grin.

"It feels like this place gets emptier every time I come in..." Closing her eyes and grabbing onto her left elbow, Alia found her grasp shaky and her chuckle as dry as the air surrounding her.

"X...you don't know just how relieved I am that you made it back safely."

"I owe it all to Zero. Without him, I never would've made it back..." X looked back, finding it strange not to see Zero standing next to him. His presence could almost still be felt, and for a second X blinked and could've sworn he was still there.

"...I just can't believe there's nothing left of him."

"...Actually..." Alia spoke up, grabbing the Hunter's attention.

"There's something I want to show you X," She began to walk past the two, turning her gaze aside at Shina and remarking, "You should come too, Shina."

"Huh?" Shina murmured. The two trailed behind Alia, following her through many halls until they eventually arrived at what was once Zero's room. To X's surprise, Zero's capsule had been returned to it's proper resting place, with the broken shards of glass taken off. There were two things inside of it. One was wrapped up in a brown cloth, while the other object rested at the base of the capsule.

X walked up and picked the object out of the capsule right away, gripping it around his right hand and pointing it outward in front of his face. The object was light as a feather, but very heavy to hold. Squeezing his grip on the handle of the object, a blade of green energy shot out from the top and extended plain as day in front of X's eyes. He stared at it, his eyes trembling as he gasped for words.

"This is..."

X took a couple steps back and leveled the blade before his chest. Turning around, X took a cautious swing of the blade at the empty air. It was light, but hard to handle. The blade resisted his attempt to swing it, so he just tried again. The blade still resisted him. He then held it back up where he originally began and stared at it some more. Loosening his grip, the blade disappeared, and he turned his head to look at Alia.

"Thank you..." Even X knew that wasn't enough to express his appreciation, but Alia accepted the thanks with a soft grin.

"I know...I know he'd want you to take good care of that, X."

Turning the rest of his body around, X lowered the blade by his hip and nodded his head, leaning it back a bit and saying, "And I will. This blade...is Zero's legacy."

He slanted his head to look at it some more, clenching it tightly in his grasp. His body went cold for a second around his back, and he glanced behind him with his eyes widened in shock.

But there was nothing there.

Slanting his brows down, X's lips spread out into a tiny smile and his mind felt at ease. He lifted the blade up before his face one more time and stated to his company, "As long as I wield this Saber, I vow never to hesitate again. If a Maverick threatens the peace of this world, I will stop them...It may seem impossible now, but someday...We'll create the world that Dr. Light and Zero wanted...A world where all humans and Reploids live together in harmony, not in fear of one another."

"Signas and I will always be here to provide you aid, X." Alia gave him a thumbs-up, but her gentle smile suggested that she wanted to say more than that.

"And I'll also try my very best while I'm still here!" Shina proclaimed with a clap of the hands before her chest. X shifted his gaze towards her and looked quite puzzled.

"You're going to stick around Shina?"

"Well...I can't go anywhere else. Alex is possessed by the artifact piece I need, and he's also my ride off the planet." Shina closed her eyes and arched her fingers between the gaps to hold the hands together above her chest. After twiddling her pointer fingers around, she faced X and let out a flustered gasp.

"I-I'm sorry if my presence is a bother to you all..."

X placed his left hand on Shina's shoulder and stared her in the eyes, "If Alex is being possessed, then we'll just have to free him. The Maverick Hunters have your back."

After a quick pat, X passed by Shina and suggested, "Try and get a little more rest. We'll try and perform a search in the morning."

When he was gone, Shina crossed her arms under the chest with a worried glance at the ceiling, "Where do I even begin...?"

Closing her eyes, she forced herself to remember the poor state Alex was in last she saw. He had escaped the Zero Space in the midst of the final battle with Sigma, but with his aura in an irregular flux it'd be difficult to track him that way.

"...Alia, do you have any ideas?" Shina spun around, and the navigator propped a pointer finger up beside her chest and replied, "Actually...that's why I called you here. Zero's sword wasn't the only thing we found at the crash site."

She reached into the capsule and picked up the clothed object, holding it between both her arms as she presented it to Shina. She could only stare at the cloth with a thick hesitation clouding her heart until her right hand magnetized itself to the top fold and began to pull it back. Stopping halfway to wince her eyes and ready herself with a deep breath, she jerked the cloth right off the cover.

"T-This is..." There were not one, but two objects underneath the cloth. Shina swung her hands up and clasped them against her mouth, her eyes quivering as all the life was flushed from her body upon recognizing them.

The larger of the two objects was Alex's amber glistened blade, which remained as peerless and fierce as a lonesome inferno. The other object was one she hadn't seen much of, a black and gold rounded stone with the roman numerals of a clock etched around it's circumference. She recalled Alex calling it by name once, the Gaia Temporis. He had been very firm in warning her in the past that only he was allowed to touch this stone, and experienced showed that said stone was almost always glued to his hip even if it somehow happened to leave his pockets.

But for it to be here, laid bare and vulnerable before her eyes, was something she did not know just how to react to...

"I was thinking that maybe, just maybe, I'd be able to lock on to Alex's specific energy signature via his sword. As far as this strange stone goes...Well, I'm guessing you know more about it than I do." Alia nudged the objects closer, and after her initial bout of shock had faded Shina's right hand pulled away from the face and reached for the Gaia Temporis.

A couple inches away from it, all but her pointer finger curled inward, and even then she chose to tap the stone with the very tip of her fingernail while pulling her body back. But to her surprise, nothing happened. No shock. No recoil. Nothing!

"...H-Huh?" Shina straightened her face out of that grimacing state and leaned closer to the stone. Her fingers spread out once more, and she wrapped it around the Gaia Temporis to pick it up. Tilting her head around as she swiveled the stone in circles, she wondered why there was no reaction. She had expected at least a protective measure to fend her off, considering how insistent Alex was that she avoided touching it. But no, it was almost welcoming of her presence.

With a pinched together frown, Shina decided not to test her luck for now and placed the stone in her right pocket. Then she reached for the sword, specifically the handle, and had a much easier time grabbing onto and picking it up. Looking at her reflection in the blade, her lips began to quiver into a pucker.

Many times had this blade been used to cut down evildoers in their way.

Many times had the blade's owner stood at her side and helped her through thick and thin.

Too many times to count did she owe the boy for all that he's done.

The gravity of was happening hit her harder then than it had before. The boy she had come to admire was possessed, stripped of his free will and left a slave to his inner demons. There was no waiting around, hoping that he would resolve the problem like he always had. He needed help, _her help_. Even the distance between them had grown apart recently, she was still his friend, his only friend. No one else could save him...Not Alia, not Signas, not even X. It HAD to be her.

" _Alex..."_ Shina let out a sniffle and then carried the heavy blade over her body, creating a strap of aura on her back big enough to sheath the blade. When it locked into place, Shina tightened her hand into a fist and held it against the center of her chest. Her heart was burning, not with rage or sorrow, but with determination.

And that same fire was reflected in her eyes, whose stare melted through the dark horizons she imagined Alex was trapped in.

" _I promise...I'll save you!"_

….

….

" _So, everything has gone exactly as you planned it, my mischievous little friend."_

" _Yes. The destroyer's true self has been exposed for all to see. Now, it is only a matter of time before the hapless masses beyond the static veil turn on him, treating him like the monster he truly is."_

" _But what of the girl?"_

" _The Aurian can try as she might, but it's a wasted effort. She'll realize how futile it is to try and save someone who cannot be saved, and either succumb to his horrific might or see fit to kill him herself."_

" _..."_

" _Is something the matter?"_

" _I believe you are gravely underestimating the girl's chances."_

" _Ohohooh...Are you rooting for her?"_

" _You should know by now that_ _ **I**_ _always will."_

" _Fufufu. I suppose it doesn't matter to me if she does or not. The boy's fate is decided regardless of the paths he takes. It would just save me the trouble of having to flex my powers more than necessary..."_

" _Oh bollocks...As though you even know the meaning of the word 'strain'."_

" _Hmmm, you know me so well. It's almost as if we've been friends for over two-thousand years..."_

" _Heh, a fair point. Alas, the show must end for now. It'll be a bit of time before the girl succeeds in her goals..."_

" _For you, maybe...But for me, it'll be but an instant."_

" _...Hmph, lucky you."_

" _Ta-ta for now, my friend..."_

" _Same to you, my wicked little witch..."_

 **CLASH OF THE ELEMENTS PART 4 EX STORY 6**

 **THE END!**


	24. Epilogue

**Epilogue: Nightmares**

It has been a few days since the Eurasia incident had passed. News spread fast about the deaths of Zero and Sigma, and many curious Reploids tried to swarm the crash site in search of his remains. But the Maverick Hunters quickly quarantined the area off, hiding their efforts behind a warning of heavy toxicity in the area.

However, there was one Reploid who was different from the greedy masses. One sharp enough to know how to slip by the guards and get to the center of the crash site without being detected. His name is Gate, a scientist class Reploid who had no idea how his curiosity would forever change the course of human and Reploid history...

Wearing a pristine white lab coat over his sharp purple armor, Gate crossed the dusty landscape with an arm protecting his eyes from the rough dust that flew his way.

"It has to be around here somewhere..." He murmured with great intrigue, his eyes surveying all his surroundings in a matter of seconds.

"...Curious, the report said they managed to avoid most of the damage. But these lands...it's almost like a hurricane tore apart an entire city, and flung the worthless scrap away."

Advancing forward, Gate aimed his sights on the ground next, undeterred by the howling winds.

"But it **has** to be around here somewhere, I just KNOW it is!" After a few more seconds, the tip of his toes touched upon something with a peculiar ruggedness to it. Backing off a step, he pulled his arm down and gazed upon the object at the base of his foot. Nudging his toe forward, he pushed up a chunk of metal with a green grid on the surface.

"This is...!" With a gasp of wonder Gate dropped down and plucked the metal right from the ground. For a mind as brilliant as his own, he deduced what this object was in a nanosecond and hoisted it skyward, yelling in triumph.

"Yes! Yes! Yes! I found it! A DNA sample of Zero himself!" Left grinning like a kid in a candy store, Gate held the metal close to his chest and tapped the left side of his helmet.

"Isoc...! My excavation was a success!"

In a darkened laboratory far, far away, another Reploid wearing a lab coat observed Gate over a live feed camera.

" _With this sample of the ultimate robot's DNA...We'll finally be able to create our own. Perfect. REPLOID!"_

Backing away from the keyboard with a grin visible by the light projecting off the computer, the Reploid named Isoc murmured to himself, "Yes, he is the ultimate robot...Aren't you, Zero, my greatest creation...?"

 _To be continued..._


End file.
